A Constant Visual Feast

I want to be angry that Sarah Polley‘s first film in a decade didn’t work for me, but that means being angry at Sarah Polley. Given that Sarah Polley went through ups, downs, bullshit, and hardships between now and Alias Grace and Stories We Tell, I don’t really feel like “anger” is an appropriate response. Disappointment, though? We can do that.

It brings me no joy or pleasure or gratification to write negative criticism of a film like this, by an artist like Polley, who I’ve been rooting for for ages; it does, at least, give me comfort knowing that lots of folks do like Women Talking, and that I, one negative voice in a sea of hosannahs, don’t have enough clout for my critiques to harm the film’s chances. All the same: I really wish people wouldn’t make movies about subject matter like this under the assumption that simply presenting the subject matter is the same thing as elevating it into drama.

You can read my full review over at Paste Magazine.