Musician Billie Eilish is to star in a new adaptation of ‘The Bell Jar.’
Sarah Polley is writing and directing the movie.
Focus Features is in talks to produce and distribute.
Having already found success in movies thanks to her Oscar-winning music for ‘No Time to Die’ and ‘Barbie’, Billie Eilish is looking to follow other singer-songwriters to the screen and making her cinematic acting debut.
The only novel written by American writer and poet Plath, ‘The Bell Jar’ was originally published in 1963.
This semi-autobiographical work charts a young woman’s descent into mental illness and the burden of societal pressures. The book paralleled Plath’s own experiences with depression; the writer tragically died by suicide just a month after the novel’s first UK publication.
Who else has tried to film the novel?
Dakota Fanning stars in Paramount Pictures’ ‘Vicious.’
Since then, it has mostly been false starts: Julia Stiles was attached to star in a version in 2007 that ultimately didn’t come to pass. And Kirsten Dunst was attached to direct Dakota Fanning in the story a decade later but that also fell by the wayside. Showtime was reportedly developing a small screen take in 2019, but that hasn’t moved forward.
Sarah Polley backstage with the Oscar® for Adapted Screenplay during the live ABC telecast of the 95th Oscars® at Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 12, 2023.
What do you do when you’re an indie darling who has recently won an Oscar for your latest, critically-praised drama? If you’re Sarah Polley, you accept a phone call from Disney asking if you’d want to make one of its animated-to-live-action movies.
At least, according to Deadline’s story, which is reporting that Polley is in the early stages of making a deal to handle ‘Bambi’ for the studio.
Polley is a somewhat surprising choice for a big Disney movie, given that the filmmaker, who got her start as an actor from a young age, is mostly known for producing documentaries and making the sensitive dramatic likes of ‘Away from Her’ and ‘Women Talking’, the latter of which won her the Best Adapted Screenplay trophy at this year’s Academy Awards.
Adapted from Felix Salten’s 1923 novel ‘Bambi, a Life in the Woods’, the original film, released by RKO Radio Pictures in 1942, became just the fifth animated feature ever to emerge from Disney’s studios.
It’s the coming-of-age story of the title character, the young deer struck by tragedy who counts amongst his woodland pals the rabbit Thumper and a skunk named Flower.
And famously, it helped to create the template for Disney movie characters losing parents, as the death of Bambi’s mother still resonates (and causes tears) to this day.
Disney, which has seen success turning its animated output into live-action (or in the case of 2019’s ‘The Lion King’ remake, photorealistic CGI), is ploughing ahead on more of the movies –– ‘The Little Mermaid’ is doing decent business at the box office right now and a new ‘Moana’ is on course to land in theaters on June 27th, 2025, starring Dwayne Johnson, who will reprise his role as demi-god Maui.
Dwayne Johnson announces live-action ‘Moana.’ Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios.
The studio has had ‘Bambi’ in its crosshairs since at least 2020, with Geneva Robertson-Dworet (‘Captain Marvel’) and Lindsey Beer (‘Chaos Walking’) on board back then to write the script and Chris and Paul Weitz producing the film.
Since then, the Weitz brothers are still attached to produce but the scriptwriting duties have moved on to Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster, who co-wrote Mr. Rogers drama ‘A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood’, but probably more pertinently have Disney experience working on ‘Maleficent: Mistress of Evil’. Disney’s looking to keep the music level up too, as country star Kacey Musgraves is reportedly providing the tunes.
(L to R) Jamie Lee Curtis and Ke Huy Quan pose backstage as the Oscar® winners for Actress and Actor in a Supporting Role during the live ABC telecast of the 95th Oscars® at Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 12, 2023.
Given the events of last year’s memorable-for-the-wrong-reasons Academy Awards, everyone was likely either hoping for a buzzy reprise or (on the producers’ front) a quiet evening. As it happens, the show tended towards the latter.
And the viral, memorable moments are mostly going to be remembered for being on the positive side –– Michelle Yeoh’s historic Best Actress win, Ke Huy Quan and Brendan Fraser successfully completing their trophy tours on the biggest stage (with typically emotional responses and standing ovations) and ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ proving to be an awards powerhouse still.
Nominated for 11 Oscars, the indie sci-fi film might not have seemed to be potential Oscar bait; could a movie with dildo fights and hot dog fingers really win over stuffy voters? But win them over it did, taking home seven awards, including the aforementioned acting triumphs, Best Original Screenplay, Best Director and Best Picture. Its cast and crew were universally thrilled with their recognition and pulsed with joy.
The ceremony around those blips of happy success was more mundane, feeling like a safe overcorrection in the wake of Slap gate to ensure things ran smoothly. They did (the show actually finished early), but even with Jimmy Kimmel drawing from the book of Oscar Hosting 101 (he arrived on stage under a parachute having spoofed ‘Maverick’) it was all blandly factory produced.
Presenter banter was slight and cheesy (enlivened by Elizabeth Banks sharing the stage with an actor in a bear costume and Hugh Grant telling the audience he’s “basically a scrotum” in a gag about moisturizer use while standing next to ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’ co-star Andie MacDowell), and things ran on rails. The musical performances ran the gamut from energetic (‘RRR’s “Naatu Naatu”, which would go on to claim the prize) to seeming more like they were set to be performed in a coffee shop (Lady Gaga’s muted, yet still effective “Hold my Hand” which ended with a sweet tribute to original ‘Top Gun’ director Tony Scott).
It might not have been the most memorable show, but some of the moments will linger longer than the sting of any slap.
(L to R) Andie MacDowell and Hugh Grant backstage during the live ABC telecast of the 95th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 12, 2023.
(L to R) Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Quan pose backstage with their Oscar® for Directing during the live ABC telecast of the 95th Oscars® at Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 12, 2023.
Ke Huy Quan poses backstage with the Oscar® for Actor in a Supporting Role during the live ABC telecast of the 95th Oscars® at Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 12, 2023.
Sarah Polley backstage with the Oscar® for Adapted Screenplay during the live ABC telecast of the 95th Oscars® at Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 12, 2023.
Guillermo del Toro poses backstage with the Oscar® for Animated Feature Film during the live ABC telecast of the 95th Oscars® at Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 12, 2023.
Ruth E. Carter backstage with the Oscar® for Costume Design during the live ABC telecast of the 95th Oscars® at Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 12, 2023.
SOUND
‘All Quiet on the Western Front’
‘Avatar: The Way of Water’
‘The Batman’
‘Elvis’ ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ – WINNER
ORIGINAL SCORE
‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ – WINNER
‘Babylon’
‘The Banshees of Inisherin
‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’
‘The Fabelmans’
ORIGINAL SONG
‘Woman Talking’: “Applause” – Diane Warren
‘Top Gun: Maverick’: “Hold My Hand” – Lady Gaga
‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’: “Lift Me Up” – Rihanna ‘RRR’: “Naatu Naatu” – WINNER
‘Everything Everywhere All at Once: “This Is A Life” – Son Lux, Mitski, David Byrne
Oscar® nominee Rihanna arrives on the red carpet of the 95th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 12, 2023.
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
‘All Quiet on the Western Front’
‘The Batman’
‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’
‘Elvis’ ‘The Whale’ – WINNER
PRODUCTION DESIGN
‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ – WINNER
‘Avatar: The Way of Water’
‘Babylon’
‘Elvis’
‘The Fabelmans’
FILM EDITING
‘The Banshees of Inisherin’
‘Elvis’ ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ – WINNER
‘TÁR’
‘Top Gun: Maverick’
Oscar® nominee Steven Spielberg arrives with guests on the red carpet of The 95th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 12, 2023.
VISUAL EFFECTS
‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ – WINNER
‘The Batman’
‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’
‘Top Gun: Maverick’
The 95th Academy Awards will take place on Sunday, March 12th and with it will come the end of the 2023 award season.
Following Will Smith‘s “slap heard around the world” at last year’s Oscar ceremony, the Academy had hoped to get back to normal this year but has already had to deal with the controversy surrounding Andrea Riseborough’s surprise nomination for Best Actress for her performance in ‘To Leslie.’
With an unusual number of box office hits nominated for Best Picture this year including ‘Avatar: The Way of Water,’ Top Gun: Maverick,’ and ‘Elvis,’ and an awards season that has seen several frontrunners emerge but some categories still too close to call, Sunday’s ceremony promises to be an entertaining event, once again hosted by the returning Jimmy Kimmel.
Below are our predictions for who will win Oscars on Sunday at the 95th Academy Awards. We are only breaking down our predictions for the six major categories, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress.
Let’s Begin!
BEST PICTURE
(L to R) Stephanie Hsu, Michelle Yeoh, and Ke Huy Quan in ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once.’ Photo Credit: Allyson Riggs.
In the Best Picture race, basically three frontrunners have emerged, ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once,’ ‘The Banshees of Inisherin,’ and ‘The Fabelmans,’ with ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ and to a lesser degree ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ still in the mix.
Award season began with ‘Fabelmans’ and ‘Banshees’ both winning Best Picture at the Golden Globes, but since then ‘Everything Everywhere’ has definitely taken the lead winning Best Picture from the Critics Choice, Hollywood Critics Association, Independent Spirit Awards, Screen Actors Guild, and the coveted Producers Guild Award, which is usually a pretty good precursor of who will win Best Picture at the Oscars.
It is worth mentioning that ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ won Best Picture at the BAFTA‘s, and it is not outside the realm of possibility that it could cause a surprise win, but given the Academy’s dislike for Netflix, I don’t think that will happen. And don’t forget ‘Top Gun: Maverick,’ which has been given credit for saving the film industry, and it is possible that Tom Cruise, who would win his first Oscar ever as a producer, and longtime super producer Jerry Bruckheimer will be rewarded by the Academy for their contributions.
That being said, safe money is certainly still on ‘Everything Everywhere’ taking the top prize, and I would be very surprised if that doesn’t happen.
(L to R) Directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert on the set of A24’s ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once.’ Photo Credit: Courtesy of A24.
Steven Spielberg began the award season winning Best Director from the Golden Globes, but since then The Daniels (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert) have emerged as the frontrunners winning Best Director from Critics Choice, HCA, Independent Spirit Awards, and the Director’s Guild, which usually correctly predicts the Oscars.
While Edward Berger won Best Director from the BAFTA’s for ‘All Quiet,’ the chances of him winning are very slim, and director Martin McDonagh’s Oscar night win will most likely come in the Best Original Screenplay category for ‘Banshees.’
The Daniels biggest competition is still living legend Spielberg, who is the only filmmaker ever to be nominated in 6 different decades, which is ironic since he had a hard time being accepted by the Academy early in his career (He wasn’t even nominated for ‘The Color Purple!’). The Academy may recognize Spielberg for his very personal work on ‘Fabelmans,’ which would be his forth Oscar win for Best Director, tying him with John Ford for most wins of all time.
Awards season started off with both Colin Farrell and Austin Butler winning Golden Globes for ‘Banshees’ and ‘Elvis,’ respectively. But since then Brendan Fraser has come on strong winning The Critic’s Choice, HCA, and SAG Awards for his performance in ‘The Whale.’
‘Banshees’ won big at the BAFTA’s, but Farrell still lost to Butler, basically eliminating his chances at the Oscars. With Butler’s BAFTA and Fraser’s SAG win, it’s really too close to call, but I feel Butler will most likely take the win.
Hollywood loves a good comeback story and Fraser’s move from 90’s action star to dramatic actor after several years of obscurity and personal issues is one that the Academy might not ignore. But Butler gave the superior performance, and if Rami Malek can win Best Actor for lip-syncing as Freddy Mercury in ‘Bohemian Rhapsody‘ then Butler deserves the win for actually singing.
Who Will Win: Austin Butler – ‘Elvis’ Who Could Win: Brendan Fraser – ‘The Whale’
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BEST ACTRESS
Michelle Yeoh in ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once.’ Photo Credit: Courtesy of A24.
By far this is the closest race of the night as Cate Blanchett and Michelle Yeoh are essentially in a dead heat. Both Blanchett and Yeoh started the season strong winning Golden Globes, then Blanchett took the Critics Choice and BAFTA’s, while Yeoh took home HCA, SAG, and Independent Spirit Awards honors.
If Yeoh wins, she will be the first Asian woman in history to win Best Actress, and if ‘Everything Everywhere’ goes big on Oscar night, as I think it will, that could help put the actress over the top. Personally, I am rooting for Yeoh to be rewarded for her incredible body of work, and the momentum seems to be on her side going into Sunday.
Who Will Win: Michelle Yeoh – ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’
Who Could Win: Cate Blanchett – ‘TÁR’
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BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Ke Huy Quan as Waymond Wang in A24’s ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once.’
If there has been any locked category this season it has definitely been in Best Supporting Actor as Ke Huy Quan has won almost every award there is to win including a Golden Globe, Critics Choice, HCA, Independent Spirit Awards and SAG.
Yes, Barry Keoghan won the BAFTA, but he is an Irish actor and the BAFTA’s tend to reward Europeans over Americans when they can, so I wouldn’t read too much into that.
Again, Hollywood loves a comeback story and no one (even Fraser) has a better one than Quan, who after becoming a child star thanks to ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom‘ and ‘The Goonies,’ had to leave acting altogether because of a lack of roles. The actor has returned in a big way, and especially if the movie has a good night, I completely expect Quan to win, which will make him only the second Asian actor in history to do so in this category after Haing S. Ngor‘s win in 1984 for ‘The Killing Fields.’
This may be the most interesting category of the night. After being the frontrunner all season and winning a Golden Globe, Critics Choice, and HCA, Bassett lost the BAFTA to Kerry Condon for ‘Banshees.’ More importantly, she lost the coveted SAG award to Jamie Lee Curtis for ‘Everything Everywhere,’ who hadn’t won an award all season, completely throwing this category into chaos.
Again, I wouldn’t read too much into Condon’s BAFTA win, but Curtis’ win should be troubling for Bassett, as the SAG Awards are usually a good predictor for the acting categories on Oscar night. However, both actresses have long and distinguished careers, are well respected amongst their peers, and frankly, deserve to win.
If Bassett wins, she will be only the 23 Black actor to ever win a competitive acting Oscar. She would also make history as the first actor ever to win an Oscar for a Marvel movie, and only the third actor overall to ever win for appearing in a superhero movie, after actors Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix both won for playing the Joker in ‘The Dark Knight‘ and ‘Joker,’ respectively.
If ‘Everything Everywhere’ has a really big night, Curtis could win in an upset, and she does seem to have more momentum coming off of her big SAG win.
But I think safe money is still on Bassett, who will not only win for her strong performance and the longevity of her career, but also for the memory of the late ‘Black Panther‘ star Chadwick Boseman. His last opportunity to win an Oscar was taken away by the Academy a few years ago when they awarded Anthony Hopkins for ‘The Father‘ over Boseman’s final performance in ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.‘ I think that too will factor in voter’s minds, wanting to right a wrong, and reward Bassett in his memory.
Michelle Yeoh in ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once.’ Photo Credit: Courtesy of A24.
If anyone was concerned that a film featuring multiverses, sensual use of hot dog fingers and a fight involving butt plugs might be too weird for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, those concerns were put to one side this morning as ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ stormed the Oscar nominations with an impressive 11 nods.
We’ll wait to see how many of those nominations are converted into wins come Oscar night, but it’s a welcome show of support for the scrappy film that could which has gone on to become a major awards contender, winning plenty for directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert and stars Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan, the latter of whom is surely the favorite as Best Supporting Actor. It’s also nice to see fellow co-star Stephanie Hsu up for Best Supporting Actress.
Elsewhere, fellow front-runners and awards hoovers ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’ and ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ got nine nominations each, and both seem likely to take something home. ‘Elvis’ is nipping at their heels with eight, and star Austin Butler remains a potential Best Actor winner.
Austin Butler as Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Elvis.’ Photo Courtesy of Warner Bros.
On the big blockbuster front, it was a case of mixed fortunes, much like the box office of late. ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ and ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ both made it into Best Picture and several technical categories, while ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ couldn’t repeat the trick of the first film, cropping up mostly in the likes of costume and make-up, though Angela Bassett has real (and deserved) momentum as Best Supporting Actress.
Like ‘Wakanda Forever’, ‘The Batman’ is mostly found in the technical side of the nominations while both ‘Babylon’ and ‘Empire of Light’ lingered with just a couple of nods. We’re also sorry to see ‘RRR’ miss out on an International nod, though it is in contention for Best Original Song.
Among the pleasant surprises? The groundswell of support for Andrea Riseborough in ‘To Leslie’ sees her end up on the Best Actress list and an Animated Film category where you’d be happy with pretty much any of the listed entries winning. Also, Sarah Polley’s ‘Women Talking’ certainly deserves to be sharing Best Picture space with the others in that category (and Adapted Screenplay), even if its acting ensemble perhaps deserved better.
Michelle Yeoh in ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once.’ Photo Credit: Courtesy of A24.
With the Golden Globes in the rear view, attention turned to the awards––or at least their nomination announcement––chosen exclusively by Hollywood’s acting community, the Screen Actors Guild awards.
Because of the large size of the voting body, the SAG awards tend to be a decent pointer to who could be looking at an Oscar for acting, or at the very least, a nomination.
So you’ve got to feel sorry for Tom Cruise today, as neither he nor his ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ cast made the list. Though it does seem more likely that the movie has a shot at a Best Picture nomination and plenty of technical nods at the Academy Awards, the chatter about Cruise’s performance and the warm reception for the likes of Glenn Powell and the other ‘Top Gun’ ensemble hasn’t translated into acting kudos here.
Many of the main categories are the expected batch of returning names (Cate Blanchett, Viola Davis for example) plus the breakthroughs such as ‘Elvis’ Austin Butler and ‘Till’s Danielle Deadwyler. ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’, led by cast members Brendan Gleeson, Colin Farrell, Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan, is a clear favorite and seems likely to pick up several trophies.
Also dominating categories as it has in other awards nomination list is ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’, with most of the main cast scoring nods this time. Adam Sandler is also something of a surprise, though his performance in basketball drama ‘Hustle’ has won plenty of praise.
Steven Spielberg’s ‘The Fabelmans’ was among the ensemble nods, and Paul Dano was nominated for his leading role, but there was something of a shock as Michelle Williams, whose work as a character based on the director’s mother has been both nominated and won elsewhere but didn’t even crack the nominations here.
Brendan Fraser continues to score support for his performance in ‘The Whale’, which also saw a nomination for co-star Hong Chau, but surprisingly not for its ensemble, which also includes Samantha Morton and Sadie Sink.
Conversely, ‘Babylon’ notched zero nominations for the separate likes of Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt (who have appeared on other lists) but did appear in the ensemble section. It’s perhaps telling that ‘Babylon’, which has largely fizzled at the box office, is having a quieter awards season despite being a more recent release than some of its competition.
On the TV side of the list, there were also few surprises, though Taylor Sheridan’s ‘Yellowstone’ casts are starting to make more of an impact.
But while it was good to see the nominations for ‘Better Call Saul, it remains an outright crime that Rhea Seehorn isn’t on the list for her work as Kim Wexler.
Much like the movies, there was the standard mix of people who have won plenty of awards before (Julia Garner of ‘Ozark’, for example, or the ‘Only Murders in the Building’ cast) and those whose shows are brand new ‘The Bear’, which has been an awards favorite so far.
Taron Egerton in “Black Bird,” premiering globally July 8, 2022 on Apple TV+.
The list of TV nominations is below…
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series
On limited release now before opening more widely in theaters on January 6th, ‘Women Talking’ represents fourth movie from actor and director Sarah Polley, and while it is certainly her stagiest effort, there are deep, dark and uncomfortable truths running through the script and an outstanding cast bringing those words to life.
‘Women Talking’ marks the second time that Polley has adapted someone else’s work, the first being 2006’s ‘Away from Her’. Here, she draws from Miriam Toews’ 2018 novel, itself written as a reaction to shocking true events that happened at the Manitoba Colony in Bolivia in 2011.
At the ultraconservative Mennonite community, girls and women woke up regularly to discover they had been sexually violated. The attacks were written off as “wild female imagination”, or else attributed to ghosts or the work of Satan.
In truth, a group of colony men had been spraying an animal anesthetic into neighboring houses at night, rendering everyone unconscious, and raping the women. The colony elders, deciding that the case was too difficult to handle themselves, called local police to take the perpetrators into custody.
The movie’s story unfolds shortly after the men have been taken away, with several of the remaining men heading into town to post bail for their fellows. A group of the colony’s women gather secretly to discuss what to do in the wake of the revelations. Their reactions run the gamut from fearful to furious, and the debate covers all manner of subjects, but is focused mainly on a vote as to whether they stay, fight or leave the community altogether.
None of the options are perfect––some argue that if they leave, their Mennonite religion (though the name is never mentioned) teaches that God won’t be able to find them and they’ll be denied their place in Heaven. Others are burning with the desire to exact revenge on the perpetrators. And some are concerned that leaving means the boys left behind will have no one to care for them and guide them into becoming more responsible men than some of those who have come before them.
Even if you haven’t read the book, the film’s title will leave you in no illusion as to what to expect. Though that might turn some off, expecting an exercise in dialogue and tone, the intellectual and spiritual fireworks between the main characters more than makes up for an assumed lack of forward movement.
This is, by its very nature, a painful and difficult film to watch––for women who will identify with the dilemmas, and for men who should gain further insight into the high wire than women everywhere must walk on a daily basis when confronted with terrible behavior towards them.
A film as dialogue driven as this one lives and dies on the quality and skill of its cast, and here, Polley’s latest has its greatest strength. An actor for years before she began to devote more of her time to directing, she has a real eye for talent and knows how to work with fellow performers.
For ‘Women Talking’, Polley (along with casting directors John Buchan and Jason Knight) have assembled an exemplary ensemble of actors of various ages and stages of their careers, one of the finest gathering of women on screen in many years.
While some, such as Mara, Foy and particularly McDormand, have been able to find roles that let them shine (with awards glory and nominations following), others are still breaking through, relegated to second string characters compared to their male counterparts. Even Foy, in movies such as ‘First Man’ had to make do with a less compelling wife role.
Here, there is no such restriction. The only real male character in the film is August (Ben Whishaw), whose family was excommunicated, but who has been allowed to return after securing an education in the outside world and teaching the boys (the young women are not considered worthy of lessons, even though the story is set in 2010).
Sweet-natured and thoughtful, he’s permitted to sit in so as to take the minutes of their meeting (one might argue that treating a secret gathering to decide urgent action like a council meeting to figure out a new pedestrian zone might seem unlikely, but the women are raised to be formal and all are detail-orientated.
Foy pulsates with anger as Salome, matched by Buckley’s Mariche, who is seen near the beginning attacking some of the men in custody with a scythe. She wants to see justice done––even if she must do it herself, but slowly starts to question her rage. Ivey as elder Agata, looks to remain calm, while McDormand’s Scarface Janz––who delivers monologues while rarely saying a word thanks to her expressions–– seethes and counsels.
The entire cast is, without exception, impressive, whether it is young victims wandering through fields, stunned at learning what really happened to them, to others giggling and scampering their way through the meeting, not really cognizant of the huge issues being debated. And, of course, the leads, feasting on Polley’s adaptation, render some of the best performances of the year.
There is a somewhat stage bound feeling to the whole affair, though the crackling interchanges between the women certainly help overcome the idea that this might have been better served as a play. Though the most significant action is a census taker driving through the community looking to count heads, the tone, by turns meditative and electric, is a feature, not a bug.
Polley is becoming a first-rate director, and here she truly has a cast to match. ‘Women Talking’ might be a tough watch, but it’s worth paying attention to.
Set in 2010, the women of an isolated religious community grapple with reconciling a brutal reality with their faith after it is revealed that men from their community drugged and raped the women at night for years.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with actress Claire Foy about her work on ‘Women Talking,’ the subject matter, her character’s choice, working with the cast, and director Sarah Polley.
Claire Foy stars in director Sarah Polley’s ‘Women Talking.’
You can read our full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Foy, Judith Ivy, Sheila McCarthy, Michelle McLeod, Liv McNeil, and Kate Hallett.
Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about the urgency of the situation your character finds herself in at the beginning of the film?
Claire Foy: The urgency is that these women have been subjected to quite a tragic circumstance. They’ve been sexually abused, and they’ve just discovered this. My character wants to seek revenge on the men who have committed the crimes. So, the men are sent away, and they’ve got 24 hours until the men come back to the colony, and they have to decide what they’re going to do.
So, these women who are in the hayloft have been put into the position of deciding for the entire community of women whether they will stay and fight, whether they will stay and do nothing, or whether they will leave. They’re on a time pressure. They’ve only got 24 hours. Also, it’s about them getting to decide what world they want to live in. They’ve been given a tragic set of circumstances, and they get to see what they do with that, I suppose.
MF: Did you agree with your character’s point of view and what were some of the challenges you faced as an actress playing this role?
CF: Yeah, I really did. I really identified with Salome’s approach to the position that she’s in. I think everybody did. I think, all the actors in the film really stood by and championed their character’s point of view, but I really did. I felt that it was a very appropriate reaction for what she’d endured, and what her daughter had endured.
There were lots of challenges in that. I think she is challenged in the film a lot. Her position is challenged as all the women’s are, and it’s about them all coming to a conclusion collectively as a unit about what they will do. That means that sometimes you have to change your mind.
MF: What was it like for you on set surrounded by this incredible cast of actresses?
CF: It was really extraordinary. I was very grateful every day to be there. I was just watching the most extraordinary work being produced and being really proud of seeing the performances that people were able to put in, and also how dedicated we all were to what we were making, and to Sarah, and to the story. It was an incredibly supportive, collaborative, amazing environment to be in.
MF: Finally, what was your experience like working with director Sarah Polley?
CF: Just the best. She’s incredibly compassionate. She’s so intelligent. She’s so open to learning, and she’s so self-aware. She’s incredibly generous with every single person on set. She believes everybody has a right to be involved in the film they’re making and have an opinion. She’s what a director should be and what a leader should be. She’s so good at setting an example and leading people.
