By Marisa Ferreira
Staff Writer
Netflix’s latest release, “Pieces of a Woman,” will go down in film history due to its amazing acting and screen-play that undoubtedly brings watchers to tears.
The two hour and eight-minute movie begins with the main character, Martha Weiss (Vanessa Kirby), going into labor. The amazing directing throughout this scene leaves the audience in suspense, eventually revealing that she had a miscarriage. The rest of the movie follows her grief, as the audience gets to go on the taunting emotional roller coaster of recovery alongside Martha.
The poignant movie “Pieces Of a Woman” was released in theatres on Dec. 30 and later released to Netflix on Jan. 7.The cast is comprised of Martha Weiss, played by Vanessa Kirby, Sean Carson, played by Shia LeBouf, and Anita Weiss, played by lliza Shlesinger.
One of the key elements to the film’s leading success is the outstanding acting that Kirby upholds through the entirety of the heart-wrenching story. Kirby’s brilliant minimalist acting brings emotion beaming through her eyes and through the quiver in her lips. Kirby has set herself up for undoubtable success with her acting in this film as many are saying she will earn an Oscar with this overwhelming and powerful performance.
The film’s greatest strength is the phenomenal directing done by Kornél Mundruczó. The first 30 minutes of the movie, which are almost done in one shot, are the most capturing. This leaves raw grief that no film jargon could explain. The direction, along with the acting, brings tears to the audience’s eyes throughout the film. The directing and acting somewhat go hand and hand, but they are the strongest parts of the film and give it undeniable integrity.
The plot of the movie is based on Martha’s life after her loss. The plot arguably brings a high measure of power to women. The film can be seen as an ode to feminism, which brings strength to the plot in an unusual way for a film. The risky plot set-
up and directing style pay off and contribute largely to the poignant message conveyed about womanhood and maternity.
Regardless of the film’s strengths, its primary fault is that the character of Martha was paid too much attention in the script. The film is about Martha’s journey through grieving her lost child, but little attention was paid to her husband, Sean, who played a huge role in her growth from beginning to end.
Similar to the lack of attention to Martha’s husband, the open- ended assumption that she had a miscarriage was a bit confusing at first, and many viewers could have been stumped with the disregard of an explanation, slightly deterring the movie’s general plot.
“Pieces of a Woman ” is nothing less than powerful and deserves the praise it has ac-claimed. Overlooking its faults, it is an exceptional portrayal of womanhood and its film-defining acting left the movie’s reputation untouchable.
Available to stream on Netflix as of Jan. 7, “Pieces of a Woman” is rated R and can be seen in select theatres.
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