By John Corrado

Please note that this is a review of the Blu-ray release of Women Talking. For my full thoughts on the film itself, you can read my original review right here.

Sarah Polley’s Women Talking, which received a pair of Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay, is being released on Blu-ray this week.

Based on the Miriam Toews novel of the same name, Polley’s film focuses on a group of women in a cloistered religious community, who gather in a barn to debate how to handle being sexually abused by the men in their community; their options are do nothing, stay and fight, or leave.

I first saw this one at TIFF, where I liked it with a few reservations (mainly due to the washed out look, which still doesn’t quite work for me). I’ve since watched it again, and I will say that I think the acting is very good and, coupled with the sensitive writing, allow the film to offer a nuanced and thought provoking exploration of this subject matter.

As a film about finally speaking up and breaking cycles of abuse, Polley’s film is a solid conversation starter, with Rooney Mara, Jessie Buckley, Claire Foy and Ben Wishaw all as standouts of its strong ensemble cast. Additionally, Hildur Guðnadóttir’s score is exceptional, and I’m surprised it didn’t land an Oscar nomination. The Blu-ray is a solid choice for those wanting to own a physical copy of the film, though the lack of any supplemental material is disappointing.

Film Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)

Bonus Features (Blu-ray):

As mentioned above, there are no bonus features on the Blu-ray. A regular DVD is included in the package, which ships with a non-embossed slipcover.

Women Talking is a Universal Pictures Home Entertainment release. It’s 104 minutes and rated 14A.

Street Date: March 7th, 2023