Women Talking

I find it hard to believe the contrast between the lack of knowledge of basic customs or words and erudite expressions on various topics. The attempt to achieve richness of thought is thus lost in the need to create the most basic dramatic arc. The apparent academic certainty hides in narrative austerity, in strong themes, and of course, in the presence of the eternal critical spotlight of Frances McDormand. And yet I felt quite deprived as a film viewer rather than a radio listener. (2023.03.09)

At the moment I can think of several theatrical dramas about the search for guilt, resolution and eventual punishment, based on dialogue and taking place mostly in one room, which I would easily rank among the best films I have ever seen. Women Talking, however, is not on one of them, even in the slightest. Its weighty subject matter is one thing, but any discussion based on it is delivered in a completely haphazard, literal, inconsistent, and, to put it in the vernacular, also tiresome and uninteresting manner. You can do an over-the-top acting exhibition in a barn the moment you have a really prolific script in your hands, which, despite the Oscar for Best Adaptation, it’s not the case here. And now let me talk at length and repeatedly about my two horses... No, I'll spare you that, unlike this film. (2023.03.17)