Women Talking.

Based on actual events in a Mennonite community, the film is a recreation directed by Sarah Polley adapted from the novel by Miriam Toews.  With actors Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley and Rooney Mara giving powerful performances in leading roles.
Given the subject matter of sexual abuse by men in a patriarchal organisation, its not surprising that these oppressed women rebel. Their microcosm displays the chinese puzzle that they find themselves in when caught between their faith and the moral path they must take in deciding their future. This is where the talking occurs. The romantic sequences of the children's lives seem out of place too, given the tone of the story, maybe to contrast whats in store for them. The other thing I found odd is that the men who committed these crimes are given no screen time, perhaps to make them more terrifying, faceless demons. The film was shot in desaturated color adding to the gloomy look of this fraught drama.
I am not going to attempt any deeper analysis of the film or subject. If you are interested in an expert opinion by a brilliant writer who’s insights and intellectual rigor I simply do not possess. Click the link below. It was only after reading her post I decided to see the film at all.

https://marygaitskill.substack.com/p/women-talking

 

 

 My Brilliant Friend.

From the pen of  Elena Ferranti  This adapted epic TV series  with three seasons of eight episodes each running almost an hour this series is a marathon, but one worth running.
It follows in great detail the friendship of two young girls growing up in an impoverished neighborhood in Naples just after the second world war. Their mean meagre and sometimes brutal upbringing in which children were often treated as burdens produced by unwanted sex by men who considered their wives as property and servants, is the harsh deprived backdrop that these two young girls were brought up in and were drawn together for protection as much as anything else. As girls their future was mapped out for them at an early age, to follow their mothers miserable lives as producers of offspring and to stand by as their philandering  husbands. Any aspirations for self betterment or education of any kind was scorned on and stamped out by parents and society as whole. The only way forward being the continuation of their existing lives. The two protagonists, Lila a firebrand from the start and Elena the more introverted of the two. Both outstanding scholars in elementary school. It’s only Elena who is eventually allowed to capitalize on her intellect through an understanding father. Much to her mothers disgust. Lila equally bright has her ambitions crushed from the start by her brutish family. Her only way forwards is through a possible eventual union with the gangs and loan sharks that control m much of the ‘neighborhood’ in which they both live. This is a character driven drama, there are no ‘stars’ as such and most of the characters are memorable, their performances stark and riveting. The production is top rate the attention to detail mind boggling the locales are authentic. This is an entirely Italian enterprise and it shows, in the best sense. The two lead protagonists, Lila and Elena are played by three sets of actors following their childhood lives into adulthood.  
Elisa Del Genio plays the adult Elena  Ludovica Nasti plays the adult Lila.   An enormous supporting cast turns this series into an engrossing adventure.   
468 stars.  HBO

                                                         

 The Lost Daughter.

In which a middle aged professor Leda,  (Olivia Coleman) goes on what she thinks and hopes is a quiet holiday only to be disappointed on many levels. As was I. Despite her formidable acting prowess, I think Coleman is completely miscast in this role. Her dour English manner (which might be intentional in casting a pall over the narrative) The contrast she displays is too stark, overpowering and unsubtle,  completely out of step with the rest of the cast members.  Her hope for a quiet restful environment is shattered with the arrival of several family groups with small children at the same location, along with an invading group of noisy disruptive teenagers. It is the temporary disappearance of one of the children (Who she finds). Along with the child’s beloved doll that also mysteriously ends up in her possession but does not immidiately return, causing the child unending hysterical misery. Finally returning the doll to the astounded mother, causing her justifiable outrage. This general upheaval rekindles her own memories of a compromised marriage and the temporary  abandonment of her daughters. The film comes to a sad limp unresolved ending.  This film had many obstacles to overcome. I think being a American adaptation, having recognized stars in leading roles, (both doing good work). Ed Harris and Peter Sarsgaard. The editing works against the film every step of the way, the cuts never letting the scenes deliver their full impact. Directing her first feature the talented actor Maggie Gyllenhaal has missed the mark. Even when the mark was written by Elena Ferranti.       Netflix