Miriam Toews' 2018 novel "Women Talking" was inspired by a horrific real-life story: In a remote Mennonite colony in Bolivia, many girls and women were repeatedly and violently raped by men in the community, who would use an animal anesthetic to render the victims unconscious as they slept in their beds. The attacks, Toews wrote in an introduction to her book, were for years attributed to "ghosts and demons"; the women were accused of lying to get attention, or of letting their imaginations run wild. Toews' novel, described by its author as "both a reaction through fiction to these true-life events, and an act of female imagination," depicted not the violence but a subsequent meeting of the women while the men have gone away to town, as they discussed what they would do about what had happened.
Written for the screen and directed by Sarah Polley, "Women Talking" the movie, likewise, is exactly what its title tells us. Though Polley opens out the action a bit, it's still primarily a long conversation taking place in a barn, in which some women argue for leaving and finding a new life somewhere else (they must leave, one says simply, because "we cannot stay"), others for staying and fighting, still others for staying and forgiving. Raised illiterate and in obedience, these women aren't accustomed to thinking about what they want, and "Women Talking" simply lets us watch as they puzzle out a course of action. It's a small group, just representatives from three families in the large community, with only one man present: gentle August (Ben Whishaw), the schoolteacher, who's there to take minutes as the women cannot do so.
On its surface, "Women Talking" doesn't seem particularly cinematic, but Polley and the actors make it mesmerizing; pulling us into these women's lives, moment by quiet moment. It's shot in faded, slightly grayed colors, as if it was left out in the rain, with cinematographer Luc Montpellier finding beautiful afternoon light in the barn and surrounding fields. The look of the film is serenely lovely, in contrast to the horrors the women discuss — or, rather, they don't. There's actually little talk of the actual attacks ("there was no language for what happened," says a young girl), but much discussion of forgiveness, of the logistics of leaving (would teenage sons go with them, or stay?), of what to do with the emotions they are feeling. You're struck by how these women laugh together, by how safe they feel with the men away, within the community they have formed.
Polley, whose previous films include actors' showcases ("Away from Her," featuring a dazzling performance by Julie Christie) and evocative documentary ("Stories We Tell," in which she turns the camera on her own family), lets us take our time in getting to know these women, in sorting out the relationships and the alliances. Vivid characterizations emerge: Claire Foy's fiery Salome, certain she can never forgive the violence done to her small daughter; Rooney Mara's soft-voiced Ona, glowing like a ghost in the dim light; Jessie Buckley's haunted Mariche, an abused women practically vibrating with anger; Frances McDormand's quiet elder stateswoman Scarface Janz, whose set jaw indicates that she knows far more than she's telling. They talk, we listen. "Women Talking" is a powerful, moving tribute to quiet strength — and, unexpectedly, to hope.
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'WOMEN TALKING'
3.5 stars (out of 4)
Rated: PG-13 (for mature thematic content including sexual assault, bloody images and some strong language)
Running time: 1:44
How to watch: In select theaters Friday, nationwide on Jan. 20
