Pieces of a Woman (2020)

When a young mother's home birth ends in unfathomable tragedy, she 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.

Director:

Kornél Mundruczó

Writer:

Kata Wéber

Stars:

Vanessa Kirby, Shia LaBeouf, Ellen Burstyn

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 5 wins & 58 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Vanessa Kirby	...	Martha
Shia LaBeouf	...	Sean
Ellen Burstyn	...	Elizabeth
Iliza Shlesinger	...	Anita
Benny Safdie	...	Chris
Sarah Snook	...	Suzanne
Molly Parker	...	Eva
Steven McCarthy	...	Photographer
Tyrone Benskin	...	Judge
Frank Schorpion	...	Lane
Harry Standjofski	...	Court Clerk
Domenic Di Rosa	...	Medical Examiner
Jimmie Fails	...	Max
Juliette Casagrande	...	Little Girl
Gayle Garfinkle	...	Judith

Storyline

Martha and Sean are a Boston couple on the verge of parenthood whose lives change irrevocably when a home birth ends in unimaginable tragedy. Thus begins a yearlong odyssey for Martha, who must navigate her grief while working through fractious relationships with her husband and her domineering mother, along with the publicly vilified midwife, whom she must face in court. A deeply personal, searing, and ultimately transcendent story of a woman learning to live alongside her loss.

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Plot Keywords:

grief | marriage | cemetery | judge | promise | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, sexual content, graphic nudity and brief drug use

Did You Know?

Trivia

After obtaining and reading the script, Vanessa Kirby flew to Budapest to express her admiration for the script to screenwriter Kata Wéber and director Kornél Mundruczó. She desperately wanted to play Martha because of the challenge of acting out an experience so unfamiliar to her. Mundruczó and Wéber were taken by Kirby's charisma, which reminded them of the European movie stars of old, and signed her on as Martha. They also stated that as soon as they announced it, the movie's budget was lowered because of Kirby's lack of starpower at the time.

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Goofs

When Sean sees a painting on the wall of Suzanne's office, he claims that it's the Tacoma Bridge. It is actually a painting of the Bosphorus Bridge, which is in Istanbul, Turkey. It can be easily distinguished by the mosque next to it.

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Quotes

Lane: Yes, how did you feel holding your baby you had just given birth to?
Martha: She smelled like an apple.

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Crazy Credits

The title appears around the 30-minute mark.

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Connections

Featured in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Gordon Ramsay/Vanessa Kirby/Sturgill Simpson (2021)

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Soundtracks

Seven Nation Army
Written by Jack White

User Reviews

Powerful drama with great acting but loses itself as the movie goes on.

3 out of 5 stars.

Pieces of a Woman is a fair drama film about a married couple Martha (Vanessa Kirby) and Sean (Shia Labeouf). As Martha is about to give birth at home. Calls for a midwife to help out. But things go horrible when the baby does not make it. Leaving the couple going through loss, grief, and struggling to move on.

It was a decent story. Which can be relatable to cases with couples dealing with loss. It is a powerful drama film. Starts out great for the first hour or so. The direction is raw and does not hold back. The birthing scene is tough and filled with emotions. Can be a tearjerker.

The performances is great with the cast. Vanessa Kirby did a phenomenal job with her role. And rest of the cast did a great job. Dealing with the struggle of loss.

I did find the music score by Howard Shore to be kind of disappointing. Making the film feel kind of slow and tedious. Which after the first hour. It does feel slow moving. They could have edited the long running time better.

It is a striking drama with great performances. But does feel a little dragged out. And long.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Canada Hungary USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 January 2021 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pieces of a Woman

Filming Locations:

Montreal, Québec, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

BRON Studios, Creative Wealth Media Finance, Little Lamb

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1