Movie Review - Pieces of a Woman

Director: Kornél Mundruczó
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 126 minutes
Year: 2021
Starring: Vanessa Kirby, Shia LeBeouf, Ellen Burstyn, Iliza Shlesinger, Bennie Safdie, Sarah Snook, Molly Parker

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2021 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 15: A NETFLIX ORIGINAL MOVIE

Description: When Martha (Vanessa Kirby) delivers her baby during a home bith, it ends up in an unfathomable tragedy. She beings a year-long odyssey of mourning that fractures relationships with loved ones.

Review: The spark can suddenly be gone because of something that doesn’t even last a beat. The realization that something traumatic has become a reality. One moment Martha and Sean share their full lives, their hopes and plans for a bright future. The next, they don’t know each other anymore. “Pieces of a Woman” begins impressively, with a tragic event depicted in half an hour with an unprecedented piece of intimate cinema. The rest of the film consists of snippets of time, in which we see the trail of destruction that has swept through two lives.
Of course, Marth and Sean’s happiness is imperfect from the start, but there is a lot of love between the two characters. You believe Vanessa Kirby when she acts like she’s laughing at Shia LaBeouf’s character’s agonizingly lame puns, and how sweet he can be to her when she needs the greatest support. But we also sympathize once their happiness is torn to pieces and they muddle along for a long time before they actually articulate that something is gone.
You have to be able to feel the pain of these two characters. Sean’s behavior derails in multiple ways and even becomes agonizing to watch as the story drags on, which is very important. With an actor other than LaBeouf, it might have been harder to accept that this man had such extremes in him. Kirby plays her pain so overwhelmingly that it makes her immobile. We almost never see a character like that in a movie. To make that compelling and dramatic, you really have to gave what it takes. And Vanessa Kirby is definitely the star of the film.  
The stylistic Hungarian director Kornél Mundruczó goes for raw realism. He pulls it off. It’s not necessarily a film that is broadly appealing, because this is not the story for a broad audience. The average viewer will probably not chose it while scrolling through all the Netflix films. However, it is a movie that I believe is one of the best of the year so far. Because “Pieces of a Woman” offers things you won’t see anywhere else.

Rating: 4,5 / 5

Netflix Friday - Volume 50

Some Netflix film tips for the weekend! And there is something for everyone, since I picked a movie for all the different genres.
 

Action: Atomic Blonde (2017)
An undercover MI6 agent (Charlize Theron) is sent to Berlin during the Cold War to investigate the murder of a fellow agent and recover a missing list of double agents.
 

Drama: Pieces of a Woman (2020)
When a young mother’s home birth ends in unfathomable tragedy, she (Vanessa Kirby) begins a year-long odyssey of mourning that fractures relationships with loved ones in this deeply personal story of a woman learning to live alongside her loss.
 

Comedy: We’re the Millers (2013)
A veteran pot dealer (Jason Sudeikis) creates a fake family as part of his plan to move a huge shipment of weed into the U.S. from Mexico.
 

Animation: Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)
When an unconfident young woman is cursed with an old body by a spiteful witch, her only chance of breaking the spell lies with a self-indulgent yet insecure young wizard and his companions in his legged, walking castle.
 

Romance: Notting Hill (1999)
The life of a simple bookshop owner (Hugh Grant) changes when he meets the most famous film star (Julia Roberts) in the world.
 

Horror: Child’s Play 2 (1990)
While Andy’s mother is admitted to a psychiatric hospital, the young boy is placed in foster care, and Chucky, determined to claim Andy’s soul, is not far behind.
 

Science Fiction: I Am Legend (2007)
Years after a plague kills most of humanity and transforms the rest into monsters, the sole survivor (Will Smith) in New York City struggles to find a cure.
 

Crime: Sleepers (1996)
After a prank goes disastrously wrong, a group of boys are sent to a detention center where they are brutalized. Thirteen years later, an unexpected random encounter with a former guard gives them a chance for revenge.
 

Thriller: The Shallows (2016)
A mere 200 yards from shore, surfer Nancy (Blake Lively) is attacked by a great white shark, with her short journey to safety becoming the ultimate contest of wills.
 

Documentary: Dolly Parton: Here I Am (2019)
In this documentary, the life, career and music of Dolly Parton are reflected in interviews with friends and companions and the artist herself, interlaced with clips of Parton’s performances.
 

Family: A Cinderella Story (2004)
Routinely exploited by her wicked stepmother, the downtrodden Samantha Montgomery (Hilary Duff) is excited about the prospect of meeting her Inter beau (Chad Michael Murray) at the school’s Halloween dance.