Women Talking (2022), dir. Sarah Polley. Tuesday, January 17, unfortunately at the Alamo Draughthouse.

I wish I could say that I would’ve seen Women Talking if I hadn’t read the book. I wish I could say I would’ve read Miriam Toews’ book on my own if it hadn’t been for Heidi at Moon Palace Books recommending it to me. But she did, I’m happy to say, and she did so hoping that I would make it the title for the next That Movie Was A Book? Club. This is my book club where we read books and then watch the movie from which it’s based. The original point of the book club is to surprise people with books they didn’t know existed–this one everyone knows existed, even me. Sometimes it has to be that way.

To me, the book is intense and compelling, but deeply flawed. Based on a true story, Women Talking is about a Mennonite community where a clandestine group of men have been secretly drugging the women of the community and then raping them–children of 3 to older women (in real life, this happened to the men as well). The rapists are caught and arrested, but they may get out, in fact they will eventually get out, at which point the women will be forced to forgive their attackers or be excommunicated.

A group of women gather in a hayloft to discuss their options (and the options pertain to every woman in the community). Their options are: stay and do nothing; stay and fight; or leave. During this incredible discussion, the very nature of their existence, and the nature of God, will be discussed; for some of the women, this will be for the very first time.

In the book, Toews chose to have a narrator, and the narrator is a man named August. August is taking minutes of the discussion. I honestly don’t understand why August narrates this book–Toews, according to Heidi (who saw her speak), wanted to make sure that men were listening in the book, and August represents that (the notes he takes will be for the community later, and presumably for the men). That’s well and good, but August is constantly interrupting the proceedings. He does this out loud, often to the chagrin of the women, or just in his mind–after all, we’re privy to his thoughts in this first person novel. It becomes so egregious that I wondered if Toews wasn’t deliberately trying to make a point that even so-called good men can be trying on one’s patience.

While these women are discussing the abuse they endured, it slowly becomes evident that this is a daily fight, for they weren’t just physically assaulted, but emotionally and spiritually assaulted every day. And in these incredible revelations, August, who is in love with one woman, Ona, continually observes her with longing. He’s in love with her and for Christ’s sake I just didn’t fucking care. We get to hear all of his backstory and the guy is a mope extraordinaire. At one point, perhaps the most pivotal point in the story, the women sing a hymn, and August lets them know that that was the hymn they sung on the doomed Titanic. He actually says, “maybe that’s not appropriate.” Yeah, no, maybe it’s not. Women Talking, Men Interrupting.

But Sarah Polley, who wrote the script to the great film she directed, jettisons this. One of the teenage girls is now the narrator, and she’s narrating to the baby who was born of one of the assaults. August (played by Ben Wishaw) is there, but we’re not in his head; his backstory is gone; he’s still in love with Ona (played with utter joy and brilliance by Rooney Mara), but that’s barely touched upon. I swear that every choice Polley made to streamline the novel worked and really tightened and strengthened the story, and it’s so good. Some characters are improved (the two teenage girls, best friends, are sharp and funny here, as opposed to foolish and reckless in the book–a marked improvement). At times the film is didactic–but more so than a Spike Lee joint? No, much less, in fact.

I loved the movie for its intensity and phenomenal acting, cinematography and score and the way it’s actually an uplifting movie. It’s sad. God damn it’s sad. But Polley’s film seems to me much more technically interesting and potent.