Women Are Talking About Many Things

BY MEGAN BIANCO, SAN CLEMENTE TIMES

Alot of filmmakers choose unflattering visuals to reflect a harsh theme or character in a movie. With Sarah Polley’s Women Talking, it’s easy to see that’s what she was aiming for with the cinematography.

This is a story about rape victims coping with abuse, so their world appears how they feel. Much like Maria Schrader’s She Said (2022), Polley’s film is underperforming, partly because most people don’t want to spend time at the movie theater focusing on such a serious subject matter.

Based on Miriam Toews’ 2018 novel of the same name, United Artists also heavily dropped the ball on Polley’s screen interpre-

Community Presbyterian Church, 32202 Del Obispo Street, San Juan Capistrano.

CONCERT AT THE COACH HOUSE

7 p.m. Enjoy some rollicking sounds over dinner at this intimate and popular South Orange County venue. Doug Starks will pay homage to the music of Stevie Wonder. Local stalwarts Family Style will also perform. Tickets are $20. Doors open at 5 p.m. The Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano. 949.496.8930. thecoachhouse.com

MONDAY | 06

BRIDGE GAME

12:30 p.m. The South Orange County Bridge Club hosts bridge games, Monday through Saturday. The club is a nonprofit owned by the members and welcomes people to use their minds and develop new friendships. They also offer classes for bridge players of different levels. 31461 Rancho Viejo Road, Suite 205, San Juan Capistrano. galesenter@cox.net.

OPEN JAM

7-10 p.m. Play your own percussion, acoustic or electric instruments every Monday night at Knuckleheads. Amps are allowed, but drums are not. Knuckleheads, 1717 N. El Camino Real, San Clemente. 949.492.2410. knuckleheadsmusic.com.

TUESDAY | 07

TRIVIA TUESDAY

6:30 p.m. Test your knowledge every Tuesday night. Teams of two to six people are welcome to join in for a chance to win prizes. Call beforehand to reserve a table. Selma’s Chicago Pizzeria, 31781 Camino Capistrano, Suite 201, San Juan Capistrano. 949.429.3599. selmaspizza.com.

WEDNESDAY | 08

BINGO AT THE SENIOR CENTER

1:30 p.m. Every Wednesday, the Dorothy Visser Senior Center will host Bingo. The center will begin selling cards at 1 p.m., with the game starting promptly at 1:30. The buy-in is $12 for 10 games with four cards and a special pick-your-number game. For more information, contact the center at 949.498.3322. Dorothy Visser Senior Center, 117 Avenida Victoria, San Clemente.

TRIVIA NIGHT AT THE BREWHOUSE

6:30-8:30 p.m. The BrewHouse hosts a trivia night every Wednesday. Test your knowledge with friends or show up solo and join a team. The BrewHouse, 31896 Plaza Drive, Suite D3, San Juan Capistrano. 949.481.6181. brewhousesjc.com.

H.H. COTTON’S LIVE MUSIC

7-10 p.m. Every Wednesday, H.H. Cotton’s

Get a curated list of the weekend’s best events sent straight to your inbox every Friday! Sign up for will host this live music showcase to feature talented local musicians from around the area and will occur in the restaurant’s Hamilton Room (the back room). H.H. Cotton’s, 201 Avenida Del Mar, San Clemente. hhcottons.com.

OPEN MIC NIGHT AT KNUCKLEHEADS

8-10 p.m. Knuckleheads is open for food, drinks and live music. Performers of all skill levels are welcome. If you are a musician, do stand-up comedy or the spoken word, this is the place to be on Wednesday nights. So, come down, grab a drink and go for it. Knuckleheads the women and children to secretly leave the community and start over. tation, essentially because of how difficult it would be to try to find a demographic for the film.

Sports Bar, 1717 North El Camino Real, San Clemente. 949.492.2410. knuckleheadsmusic.com.

Once you accept the gray, washed-out aesthetic, Women Talking is a mostly interesting drama on women torn between their home, ethics and what they believe is right. Buckley and Foy have been getting the most attention for their emotional performances, but I was drawn most to Mara’s quiet, calm portrayal among the main trio.

Ben Whishaw is also effectively sympathetic and understanding as the one man we see on screen. Polley, an atheist, has done her homework (as did Toews, who was raised Mennonite), and doesn’t belittle or stereotype the group’s religious virtues.

We can successfully see how women from this type of environment would process and argue or challenge each other over their options.

Women Talking attempts to be both feminist and naturally spiritual, with the victims a part of a Mennonite commune on a rural farm who haven’t lost their faith.

After experiencing too many attacks in the middle of the night and being gaslit into assuming it wasn’t rape by the men on the commune, the group of women comes together to decide what they should do about their situation.

Married Mariche (Jessie Buckley) believes they should just continue living their lives; Salome (Claire Foy) wants to physically fight back against her abusers; while pregnant Ona (Rooney Mara) thinks it might be best for

What took me out occasionally wasn’t ultimately the color scheme, but how low the film was lit for most of the movie, even during daytime scenes. There were also a few moments of awkward comic relief, mostly from two teen characters, which landed completely flat, and I could have used less.

Generally, I think I prefer Women Talking to She Said in terms of relevant content. SC

Happenings by Tom Marshall