Women Talking

"An ensemble acting triumph."

— Peter Howell, Toronto Star

"Immaculately made, intellectually adventurous and politically incisive..."

— Todd McCarthy, Deadline Hollywood Daily

"A wrenching drama about freedom, faith, abuse, autonomy, responsibility and survival."

— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast

"'Women Talking' is full of phenomenal acting by a group of actors at the top of their game."

— Odie Henderson, Boston Globe

"'Women Talking' is a powerful, moving tribute to quiet strength — and, unexpectedly, to hope."

— Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times

"Brilliant and devastating Women Talking [is] a daring experiment in riveting conversation as high drama."

— Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com

"Self-assured, brimming with conviction and intellectually demanding - Women Talking is what cinema should be about."

— Martin Carr, We Got This Covered

"From the acting to the directing and on to one of the best screenplays of the year, it is a tour-de-force in every sense."

— Randy Myers, San Jose Mercury News

"Polley has taken a pointed, of-its-moment novel and turned it into an indictment and a plea for civil discourse in a call-to-arms moment."

— Roger Moore, Movie Nation

"Women Talking is full of phenomenal acting by a group of actors at the top of their game. There are a lot of characters here, but even the most minor are given moments to shine."

— Odie Henderson, Boston Globe

"Insightfully complex, for a film where almost every meaningful minute takes place in the dusty hayloft of a creaky old barn, this is as tense and as suspenseful a thriller as anything I’ve seen in 2022."

— Sara Michelle Fetters, MovieFreak.com

"Hard as it might be to imagine, Women Talking is an upbeat and propulsive film cut with a sharp wit and a ready sense of humor, even if its characters are often laughing as hard as they wish they could cry."

— David Ehrlich, IndieWire

"Just as a war movie can encourage its audience to appreciate heroism and sacrifice, Women Talking reminds us of the value of language—its capacity for context, for constructive debate, and, in the end, for collective healing."

— Shirley Li, The Atlantic

"Toews’ book could easily have been made into a play, but every widescreen frame of Polley’s film will make you glad that it wasn’t. She infuses this truth-inspired tale with a gripping multi-generational sweep from the very first line."

— David Ehrlich, indieWire

"Moments of levity and joy twinkle throughout the crackling, tense narrative, endearing the characters to us viewers. It's a fierce message against the oppressors, unapologetically feminist in reckoning against the patriarchy."

— Sarah Milner, Slashfilm

"Though the subject matter is intense and shocking, the intuitively sensitive and subtle Polley teams with a brilliant ensemble cast to tell the story with grace and empathy and even some much-needed doses of earned humor. It’s a film you won’t soon forget."

— Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times

"Writer-director Sarah Polley’s vital film gathers together eight women—acted with heat and heart by a miraculous cast—to debate what to do about male sexual predators. Doing nothing is not an option in this unique and unforgettable landmark in the making."

— Peter Travers, ABC News

"Women Talking is not melodramatic or desperate or exploitative. It is astute and urgent and may just help those previously unable to find words or even coherent feelings for their own traumatic experiences. And hopefully it might just inspire more works of wild female imagination."

— Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press