Pieces Of A Woman Movie Review

This is an article “Pieces Of A Woman” by Marc Primo

Release date: December 20, 2020 (USA)

Director: Kornél Mundruczó

Language: English

Production Companies: Bron Studios, Little Lamb, Creative Wealth Media

Producers: Kevin Turen, Ashley Levinson, Aaron Ryde

In what many viewers might consider to be quite risky, Pieces Of A Woman succeeds in engaging audiences during its opening and establishing scenes that make them wonder if the rest of the film is just as gripping.

In director Kornél Mundruczó’s latest offering, a young couple named Martha and Sean (played by the fantastic Vanessa Kirby and the still quite troubled Shia LaBeouf, respectively) is preparing for a home birth with all the boxes in the checklist ticked, except for a sudden change in their attending midwife, Eva Woodward (Molly Parker). Though not the couple’s first choice, Eva appears to know what she’s doing until viewers are subjected to an unpredictable 30-minute rollercoaster of thrills, joy, and terror along with the couple as the baby shows distress signals into the labor.

That intense opening act alone is enough to capture audiences and bring them into an astounding piece of visual drama that challenges them to participate in bringing an unborn child into the world. The opening scenes are definitely heart-pounding and you’ll somehow heave a sigh of relief once it’s over before you ingest another hour and a half of the same intense drama, although not quite as white-knuckled as its prologue.

Kirby was brilliant in her difficult scenes and there won’t be any surprise if she earns at least an Academy nod for her work in the film. Audiences won’t be able to take their eyes off her as they will be pulled in out of concern, pity, and at times, draw strength from her as well.

LaBeouf’s Sean shows us how some men deal with trauma differently and how easy it is to pass judgement on Martha, regardless of how hard she tries to put their life together back on track. In a strange case of real to reel, LaBeouf’s recent allegations of sexual and emotional abuse seem to fit him perfectly for the role, but inevitably cast a shadow of discomfort. The way the couple faces the challenges of tragedy and how it eventually fractures their relationship seems to offer some insight on how reality can truly mess us up in one singular stroke of unfortunate fate, while asking us if we can ever be ready when it actually happens.

The scenes in Pieces Of A Woman are so genuine that many might wonder if the tag team of Mundruczó and his writer wife Kata Weber have drawn all of the film’s darkness from their real life experiences. No matter the answer, we see a classy twist of European melodrama that shines a spotlight on all of its characters to build up a story that’s filled with jagged edges that are impossible to disregard.

The heartbreaking tale of Pieces Of A Woman gives viewers multiple plots that center on how Martha deals with her life’s challenges, all put together by a pre-planned flow of its script that works too hard to suggest that we accept the scenes as improvised nuggets of real life, so that we can examine our own issues on grief, dysfunctional families, and tragedy.

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