On Women Talking
Photo by Morgan Lee
An entry from The Personal Diary of Morgan B. Lee exactly as written.
Wednesday May 3rd 2023 7:20pm (Milan Time) In the air somewhere over the UK.
I just finished Women Talking. The opening line brought me to tears immediately and I knew this was going to be really serious for me. Everything about this movie brough me to tears. The writing, I know the writing won an Oscar which is why I decided to watch the movie in the first place, and Sarah is Canadian so I’m always trying to interact with more Canadian art. But wow. The acting. The cinematic choices. This could be a play, but I’m glad it’s not. It should be both. This is an incredibly timeless work of art that asks every important question that humanity has been struggling with for thousands of years. It does it beautifully. It does it tenderly, it does is without glorifying violence, I have never seen so many women on screen, all talking, all with names. It’s never really been done – maybe A League of Their Own (Original Film) is one of the only other examples I can think of a cast like this and yes—there are no other races depicted. Guess what? The problem is white men. And who do white men love? White women. So how do we get through to white men, some of them? We show the pain their actions cause on the women closest to them. This movie is so personal to me it makes me ache. In a way, it’s my own life. I’m the sick child, I’m playing in the garden, I’m playing Cat’s Cradle, I’m protecting mom, I’m getting hit, I’m getting raped, I’m thinking about whether or not to forgive. I chose forgiveness. But forgiveness is forgiveness, it’s not the law. The law is the law. Forgiveness is between one and their God. The law is the law of the land. The new law is what the women were talking about, using their faith as a compass to create these laws but the laws they were creating were not religious laws because of course, they know only their God makes/ made these laws. And I love that they chose peace as the answer and I noticed that the most misogynistic woman is the one who gets the most abused during the non-flashback moments of the film. What’s the quote? “They don’t only teach the boys.”
You always hurt the ones you love
The one, you shouldn’t hurt at all
You always take the sweetest rose
And crush it, ‘till the petals fall
You always break the kindest heart
With a hasty word you can’t recall.
- Crush the weak to make the strong feel weaker
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So if I broke your heart last night
It’s because I love you most of all
Anyway, just a few first thoughts on one of my new favourite films.
- <3 M