Women Talking Trailer: Sarah Polley's Drama Tackles Misogynistic Violence In An Isolated Religious Colony

The following article includes references to domestic abuse and sexual assault. Please proceed with caution.

Sarah Polley has consistently been one of the most outspoken activists in Hollywood, and her directorial work often reflects her tireless dedication to justice. Her latest film, "Women Talking," is a confident, oftentimes difficult-to-watch drama about a group of Mennonite women in an isolated colony who are struggling with their faith and dedication to their religious practices after learning that they have all been repeatedly drugged and raped by the men in their community. Based on Miriam Toews' 2018 novel of the same name, "Women Talking" is tragically, loosely based on real-life events that took place at the Manitoba Colony in Bolivia. "Women Talking" has been buzzing since the early casting announcements of France McDormand, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, and Rooney Mara, but MGM has released a new trailer ahead of the film's release that should certainly keep everyone talking.

"In 'Women Talking,' a group of women, many of whom disagree on essential things, have a conversation to figure out how they might move forward together to build a better world for themselves and their children," Polley said in a statement. "Though the backstory behind the events in 'Women Talking' is violent, the film is not." She continues by clarifying that the film never showcases the violence the women experience, only short glimpses of the aftermath. "Instead, we watch a community of women come together as they must decide, in a very short space of time, what their collective response will be," said Polley.

Written and directed by Sarah Polley, "Women Talking" also features Ben Whishaw, Michelle McLeod, Judith Ivey, Sheila McCarthy, Kira Guloien, August Winter, and Abigail Winter in addition to the aforementioned Foy, Buckley, Mara, and McDormand. In the official director's statement made available to the press, Polley said that upon reading the film's source material, Miriam Toews' book of the same name, "It sunk deep into me, raising questions and thoughts about the world I live in that I had never articulated."

Polley also said that she imagined the film in the "realm of a fable," because while the story in the film is very specific to a small religious community, she felt as if the story could serve as a stand-in for a much bigger experience. "I felt that it needed a large canvas, an epic scope through which to reflect the enormity and universality of the questions raised in the film," she said. "To this end, it felt imperative that the visual language of the film breathe and expand. I wanted to feel in every frame the endless potential and possibility contained in a conversation about how to remake a broken world."

"Women Talking" will be available in select theaters beginning December 25, 2022, before a theatrical wide release on January 20, 2023.