![]() The shocking truth – victims have been dosed with horse tranquilisers to incapacitate them during non-consensual acts – is exposed and the perpetrators are arrested. Mennonite men attribute the attacks on their women and girls to ghosts, demons and “wild female imagination”. Polley does not have to explicitly depict abuse on screen – bruises and welts on legs, blood on bedsheets and anguish glistening in eyes are devastating cinematic shorthand, which connect with the same dizzying force as an angry fist. The harrowing subject matter is inspired by real-life events in an ultraconservative Mennonite colony in Bolivia and resonates powerfully as part of uncomfortable and vital cultural conversations arising from the MeToo movement. It’s intellectually meaty, elegantly structured and feels intensely theatrical in nature despite occasional forays outside the barn to witness children playing in a field, a wife returning home to her bullying husband or two girls quietly leading horses to secret stabling in the event they need to depart in a hurry. Women Talking is nominated for two Academy Awards next month including Best Picture and Adapted Screenplay, the latter nod a deserved recognition of Polley’s mastery of dialogue, pacing and tone. Set predominantly in a hayloft where a group of sexually abused Mennonite women have gathered to debate their commune’s fate, writer-director Sarah Polley’s artful and sensitively handled translation of Miriam Toews’ novel harnesses the combined emotional power of an exquisitely calibrated script and a heavyweight ensemble cast. Words speaks louder than unspeakable actions in Women Talking. Released: February 10 (selected cinemas) February 17 (general release) Rooney Mara, Jessie Buckley, Claire Foy, Sheila McCarthy, Judith Ivey, Ben Whishaw, Frances McDormand. ![]() ![]() WOMEN TALKING (15, 104 mins) Drama/Romance. This week: Channing Tatum heads to London with Salma Hayek Pinault for MAGIC MIKE’S LAST DANCE… Sarah Polley directs a harrowing tale of abuse and subjugation in WOMEN TALKING… and a plucky mouse discovers that the smallest creatures can make the greatest impact in the computer-animated adventure EPIC TAILS. Damon Smith reviews the latest new releases to watch in cinemas. ![]()
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