A Lot To Be Learned From a Few Women Talking

On Monday evening in Golden Theater, the Film and Media Department hosted an exclusive advance screening of Sarah Polley’s decisive film, Women Talking. An academy-award nominated actor, screenwriter, and director, Polley first rose to fame as a child star in the Canadian television series Ramona. However, if you ask her, first and foremost, she is a political activist who has consistently questioned and challenged the rules around her. In Polley’s most recent book, “Run Towards the Danger: Confrontations with a Body of Memory,'' she recounts lifelong trauma and the learning process of articulating her fears to better comprehend what's right in this world. In Women Talking, she does exactly what her book calls for; she runs towards the danger and brings these women’s stories to life by honestly depicting their horrific reality.

Polley worked alongside Dede Gardner and Fran McDormand to adapt Miriam Towels’ acclaimed novel, Women Talking, into this screenplay. The plot follows women in an isolated religious community attempting to understand their faith in conjunction with the violence and injustices they have experienced. Set in 2010, eight women meet in a hayloft to discuss their options after learning they had been repeatedly drugged and raped by men in their colony. While the film’s raw storytelling might provoke discomfort from viewers, there is no denying its timely importance.

Women Talking does not just pass the Bechdel test; it renders it inapplicable. Self-described as “an act of female imagination,” the film’s true essence is exactly what the title states, women talking. Throughout their conversations, moments of trauma are expertly woven into the plot through intense flashbacks. These flashbacks offer audience members a unique lens into what this kind of trauma is like for someone – interrupting a scene, taking over the entirety of the screen, and then disappearing just as fast as they appeared.  It creates an unsettling experience; every second of the film becomes gripping. The audience is forced into the hayloft with these women and must acknowledge their trauma, which the colony’s men continuously devalued. The simple setting and morose color palette allow the actor’s performances to be the driving force of escalation. The emotional climax elicits two critical takeaways: a multigenerational acceptance of the continuum of abuse and the mother’s implicit role in teaching the daughter blind forgiveness. Sheila McCarthy holds her daughter, Jessie Buckley’s, head in her hands and weepingly tells her she is sorry, over and over again. Buckley responds, “It is not only the men who have been excellent students,” as her own daughter consoles her. The shot of these three women – grandmother, mother, and daughter – apologizing to one another is overwhelming. These women know it is not just their attackers who are evil, it is the circumstances of their colony that has led to this violence. Their female role of teaching one's daughters to accept and forgive with no questions asked is also to blame. In this way, the women acknowledge the trauma they endured but still hold a loving and hopeful view of life. They protect themselves and create space from their attackers, but intuitively know the best way for them to move forward is through love and not hate, a lesson we can all learn from.

With help from the Colgate Film and Media Department and the Haven Center for Survivor Support, we fostered an inclusive and safe environment to screen the film. It encapsulates all of the conversations circulating about gender over the past couple of years, which is why it is so essential for Colgate students. Women Talking offers an insight into the very first time these women ask anything of the world around them. Polley places us alongside them in the hayloft as they realize what kind of world it would be if they had the space to think, to speak, and to live as women. The voice of a young girl provides narration throughout the film, speaking in the past tense. This framing allows the audience to find hope during an extremely difficult film, offering assurance that these women come out on the other side. Polley acknowledges each story’s entire truth and allows space for recognition and healing. The women face their trauma head-on, and only in attempting to understand their fears in totality can a hopeful conclusion come about. They must accept their reality with authenticity and work to understand the circumstances that have allowed for this violence in order. Polley masterfully guides the audience to the same conclusion through the hopeful narrator, delicate creative direction, and absolute honesty.

Colgate was fortunate to have an advanced screening of this momentous film. Women Talking premieres in theaters on December 2nd, so be sure to see it over winter break. It’s a story with the potential to spur personal growth in its audience.