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Every day, so many people get up, get dressed, and go through the motions, quietly suffering from some unknown pain. We all find our own ways to cope with pain and grief, stress and anxiety. And in Pieces of a Woman, one woman searches for her own ways to live through her grief.
Pieces of a Woman lives through unthinkable loss with Martha (Vanessa Kirby) after a difficult home birth ends in tragedy. Instead of enjoying time with her newborn daughter, she has to return to a normal life of work and shopping and relationships, all the while dealing with the physical and emotional pain of her loss. As the days and months pass, she grieves in her own quiet way, while others argue and point fingers—and her controlling mother (Ellen Burstyn) and her outspoken partner, Sean (Shia LaBeouf), file a very public lawsuit against the midwife.
It doesn’t take long for the film to jump into the action and drama of Martha’s story. As soon as we meet the characters and get a feel for their relationships and personalities, Martha’s labor begins. It’s tense and exhausting, with Martha moving from room to room, struggling with each contraction. And then, suddenly, it’s over. The tension, the noise, and the activity that should have led to celebration and joy and the sounds of a new baby instead lead to silence and grief. All of the energy is sucked right out, and the sudden change is jarring.
As time passes, each character here deals with the situation differently. Martha’s mother tries to control the situation, just as she tries to control everything else. She lays blame and sets out to put the midwife in prison. Sean screams and cries and joins the fight for justice. But Martha suffers in silence, returning to work, going about her daily tasks. Though some may think she’s not allowing herself to grieve—and Sean accuses her of being cold—she quietly grieves in her own way. It’s not easy to follow Martha through her story, knowing the pain she’s experiencing. But despite the grief and the loss and the challenges with her relationships, her story finds its own kind of beauty in the end.
Pieces of a Woman is an emotionally exhausting experience. This thoughtful character is skillfully portrayed—and, along the way, Kirby will guide you through a whole range of emotions.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
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