Sarah Polley’s Women Talking tells a harrowing story of women in an isolated Mennonite colony attempting to find justice in the wake of vicious abuse by the men of their community. Adapted from Miriam Toews’ 2018 novel, which was inspired by true events, Women Talking is a dark film in both a narrative and visual sense, probing all-too-relevant issues of patriarchal violence and religious extremism in dark, shadowy tableaus. On its face, the film doesn’t seem like the type to prioritize fashion, but the wardrobe of modest long dresses and rigid silhouettes speaks volumes about how clothing can be used […]
by Abbey Bender on Mar 9, 2023Upon winning an Oscar for scoring Joker, Hildur Guðnadóttir dedicated it “to the girls, to the women, to the mothers, to the daughters, who hear the music bubbling within,” telling them in her acceptance speech to “please speak up.” So, when she was approached to score Sarah Polley’s drama Women Talking, “after the Oscars were over and I had already given that speech,” the Icelandic composer and cellist remembers being taken aback by her own “knee-jerk reaction” to the project: “Who wants to sit through two hours of women talking?” “I stood up on that stage, urging women to talk, […]
by Isaac Feldberg on Dec 15, 2022Ever since her incredible performance in I’ve Heard The Mermaids Singing 35 years ago, Sheila McCarthy has been one of Canada’s most hardworking and reliable actors in theater, television, and film on both sides of the border. In her latest project, she joins a “murderers’ row” lineup of actresses like Judith Ivey, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, Frances McDormand, and Rooney Mara in Sarah Polley’s powerful new film Women Talking. On this episode, she talks about how the production was both daunting and exhilarating, why it felt like the “acting olympics,” what having this “extraordinarily ordinary” powerhouse director at the helm […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Nov 29, 2022