The Lessons of 'Women Talking'

Much of Women Talking takes place in the hayloft, tracking the twists and turns of the women’s debate. Three voices rise to the surface in particular, those of Salome (Claire Foy), Mariche (Jessie Buckley), and Ona (Rooney Mara). The three offer contrasting points of view, three ways of reacting to the violence that has occurred: One argues for revenge, another for maintaining the status quo, and the last for a complicated kind of forgiveness. What unites these viewpoints is a set of difficult questions: How do we leave the people we love? What if the people we love are also the people we fear? Is it possible to rehabilitate those who have hurt us?