Monday April 24
10am; 6:30pm
Director – Sarah Polley
Drama
USA
104m
Oscar-nominated writer-director Sarah Polley’s fearless adaptation of Miriam Toews’
acclaimed novel grants us access to a tight-knit, cloistered religious colony in which women
struggle to recover from an epidemic of abuse. Featuring riveting, emotionally complex
performances from a stunning ensemble that includes Oscar nominees Rooney Mara and
Jessie Buckley and Oscar winner Frances McDormand, Women Talking is a drama of
harrowing revelations, fraught alliances, and the search for grace.
Reeling from multiple counts of sexual abuse, newly uncovered within their Mennonite
colony, a group of women gather in a hayloft to discuss how to respond. While the men are
away, the women narrow their options down to three: do nothing, stay and fight, or leave.
Some fear that any act of defiance will jeopardize their entry into heaven, while others
believe they cannot survive without husbands and sons. Some are willing to take any
measures to escape the terror of their domestic lives and insist that “the truth is stronger
than the rules.”
An ensemble of astonishing actresses invest their compelling dialogue-driven drama
with a wealth of empathy and thought. – Whang Yee Ling, Straits Times Singapore
A tale that is at once timely and timeless. – Mark Kermode, Observer UK