As has been very loudly and proudly marketed, Pieces of a Woman begins (following five minutes of introductory brief glimpses) with a stunning, skilled and truly incredible 25 minute long take presenting a home birth in real time. There is seemingly no question among critics and audiences about the special power of this sequence and the performances within it and the direction of it. Where a divide has seem to occur is whether the film has much substance and worth following this astounding opening. I personally believe that the film really does have a lot more to offer and if nothing else is a showcase for some the finest acting of the year.

Credit

Kornel Mundruczo has directed here a complex and inspired piece of work that delves into the darkness of grief, aswell as the lightness of hope. The film is built around multiple revealing long takes, utilising snappier moments to punctuate these long and languidly paced refrains. Mundruczo is clearly a remarkably skilled director and makes these extended sequences flow effortlessly, all serving the complexities and difficulties of Kata Weber’s terrific script. But these long takes never sacrifice style or beauty for their hardships, in-fact the cinematography of Benjamin Loeb is frequently delicate and beautiful in its nature, perfectly cold and haunting in the darker scenes of the film and light and bucolic in the more hopeful moments – aswell as sparingly shifting these dynamics throughout to exemplify the fluid nature of the emotions our characters are feeling. Weber’s script is filled with great exchanges and some truly harrowing pieces of writing that are all delivered very well by its cast. The characters, plot and writing of Kata Weber’s script all works so tremendously well for the first 3 quarters of the film that its final 20 minutes is greatly disappointing. Without giving away the plot the final stretch of the film relies on instead of realistic and subtle work, tangible clichés that feel relentlessly out of place following the film that we have just watched.  A very sudden speech occurs in the final moments that for me felt completely unjustified by the film that had I had just seen, although Vanessa Kirby’s deliverance of the speech was effecting in some regard, it also felt like her most hamstrung and stilted moment in a film that has up until that point been the strongest cast for Best Actress I’ve seen all year (bar perhaps Julia Garner in The Assistant). In contrast to this there is a terrific monologue delivered incredibly by Ellen Burstyn in the film, and although the soliloquy could come out of nowhere in so many films, here it is seeded and built up to with epic poise, illuminated by Burstyn’s stunning work. This sort of seeding and subtly building performance was desperately needed in this final speech. Aswell as a cutting of the final three minutes entirely, a purely superfluous epilogue that only serves to undermine our characters journey in my eyes. This epilogue really did lead to s our taste upon initially leaving the film. 

Credit

All of this is underscored by Howard Shore’s subtle score that bleeds in classic themes into the overly realistic and at times even brutal sound design of the film. Again the key core of the film is a balancing of horror and hope, and indeed beauty. But above anything else the film really is a stunning showcase from its lead and supporting cast. Vanessa Kirby as Martha is sublime, complex and a fierce yet deeply affected character that contains multitudes, all of which Kirby brings to the screen with elegance, poise and a clear handle on the power of what Martha is going through. The hype around her performance is supremely well justified. However I do want some of that hype to bleed to Ellen Burstyn, who for me is an excellent and deserving shout for Best Supporting actress. Her work is dynamic, whilst always subdued and never not eruptive and deeply powerful when bared. The film is a lot more than its three leads however; Benny Safdie and Iliza Schleisinger give greatly depthful performances in their time on screen, aswell as Sarah Snook and Molly Parker who deliver top class work, with Parker being the intrinsic, if less showy, third part to the film’s astounding opening. The nature of Shia Labeouf in this film is one that I address more in the P.S, but in regards to his performance; his quality of talent is undeniable and this is some of the best and most diverse work I’ve seen him do in his career. His ability to create and breathe life into a character so frequently abominable is a tact that I have as yet not seen him utilise. In the film Labeouf works as a construction worker working on a bridge. The film is framed by the building of this bridge, with sparring intertitles illuminating the passage of time that has occurred section to section. Despite this episodic nature, the film never once loses a sense of flow and rhythm, despite also the drastic change in form and presentation that does occur at the 30 minute work. Before viewing the film I figured that the presentation of this early long sequence may make the rest of the film seem out of place, I couldn’t have been more wrong and in-fact the film structures itself as a response and dissection of that moment and hence spending so much real-time with it allows us to fully understand the ruminations and ramifications that follow for the rest of the running time.

 -

Pieces of a Woman is certainly an uneven 7/10 but its strengths do outweigh its weaknesses and when the film maximises time with its best attributes; its incredible acting, some great writing and some wonderful direction, it truly excels. The film very much is the acting showcase that it has been proclaimed to be and although it is an absolutely stellar showcase for all of the actors involved, it slowly reveals itself to be so much more, before unfortunately falling at the final hurdle with a contrived and frankly lacklustre ending. The product before it however is largely marvellous and well worth your time. 

P.S. I do not wish for these comments to feel as an afterthought simply by their placement in the Post-Script, however I did not wish to place them within the main body of the review as to place any of the effect of one man’s horrific actions upon the rest of a cast and crew doing truly great work. There is no reason that Pieces of a Woman should become Labeuof's movie or anybody elses. The recent allegations brought against and accepted without denial by Shia Labeouf will effect this film, I have absolutely no doubt. For many it will be hard to view an abuser abusing in a film, whether it be fictional or not, and that's wholly understandable. As commented in the review Labeouf is just as great as the rest of the cast in the film and there is a larger debate about art and the artist that may come up in this year’s Oscars race. However let’s divide the conversations, and let a conversation about Labeouf not overshadow a conversation about the rest of the talent involved. And let’s more importantly not subdue a conversation around abuse that will unfortunately never die, I regrettably feel.

-     -     Thomas Carruthers