Inspired by a true story, Women Talking sees a group of women tasked with deciding what action to take after discovering the men in their religious colony have been drugging and raping the female members for years.
The Oscar-nominated film’s themes of misogyny and power are pertinent – especially perhaps to its star Claire Foy, following a highly publicised court case during which a man pleaded guilty to stalking her.
“I don’t think women do need to be protected or looked after, I think we’re quite capable – I mean, I can only speak for myself – but of looking after ourselves,” she told Sky News.
“It’s that the world that we live in doesn’t agree, and that’s why so many women and young girls are put into such dangerous… maybe situations that are very similar to this movie.
“The film is really interesting because I think it deals with power and how power affects people.”
Women Talking is set in a remote, devout community, but perhaps as we hear so much about violence against women, it still resonates within our own society.
“I think one of the things the film’s about is that the patriarchy doesn’t serve men either,” says Ben Whishaw, the movie’s only male star. “It’s not a happy situation for anybody, I think that’s very important to understand.”
Jessie Buckley, who plays a woman who is physically abused by her husband, thinks Women Talking reminds us how important debate is when it comes to initiating change.
“I think the way we can move forward is through conversation and allowing all of us and all of our different worlds and the way we come into the world and how we see the world to change each other,” she said. “You know, constructively rather than kind of aggressively in a way.”
Women Talking, which is based on a book of the same name by Miriam Toews, is up for best picture and best adapted screenplay at the Oscars.
However, it was overlooked in the best director category – which is an all-male shortlist this year.
It’s something the Academy is facing criticism for as Hollywood continues to face pressure to ensure equality in the industry.
Canadian director Sarah Polley says the lack of female nominees isn’t the only issue.
“For me, the biggest disappointment in that category was there was an opportunity to have the first black woman ever nominated for an Oscar in the directing category, and that opportunity wasn’t taken.
“So when I think about movies like Till or The Woman King or St Omer, there were a lot of options.”
Women Talking is out in cinemas in the UK now
