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Pieces of a Woman

Strong performances, minimalist production make Pieces of a Woman memorable.

Pieces of a Woman

Vanessa Kirby should be nominated for her turn as the beleaguered Martha in Pieces of a Woman. Martha suffers in the first thirty minutes through childbirth to an unhappy conclusion, just one of the several setbacks that support her pervasive unhappiness.

Pieces is the kind of intense study of a woman that placed John Cassavetes in the firmament of minimalist directors with a naturalistic flare but a talent for delivering strong cinematic narratives about women. Director Kornel Mundruczo shows   

Martha also facing a troubled marriage to a working-class, former druggie, Sean (Shia Le Boeuf), who doesn’t quite fit the upscale family headed by her mother, Elizabeth (Ellen Burstyn).

Although nothing extraordinary happens beyond these serious setbacks, both are resolved in satisfactory ways consistent with Martha’s character. Besides the fraught relationship with Sean, who cheats on her and is less that eloquent about the world outside of his construction job, Martha’s most challenging dilemma is whether or not to sue the midwife, who helped bring Martha’s daughter briefly into the world. Because the actual cause of the infant death is unknown, Martha is less than sanguine about going after the lady, as her mother is more so.

Elizabeth strongly believes the midwife should be prosecuted, in part because a monetary reward could be a result of the court action. As a nuance to Martha’s character, writer Kata Weber shows Martha is reluctant to bring charges though she doesn’t articulate the reasons.  

Pieces of a Woman is an old-fashioned character study about a flawed but essentially good hero who navigates the uncertain seas of marriage, mother, and maternity.

Pieces of a Woman

Director: Kornel Mundruczo (Jupiter’s Moon)

Screenplay: Kata Weber (White God)

Cast: Vanessa Kirby (The World to Come), Shia LeBoeuf (Peanut Butter Falcon)

Run Time: 2h 6m

Rating: PG-13

John DeSando, a Los Angeles Press Club first-place winner for National Entertainment Journalism, hosts WCBE’s It’s Movie Time and co-hosts Cinema Classics. Contact him at JohnDeSando62@gmail.com

John DeSando holds a BA from Georgetown University and a Ph.D. in English from The University of Arizona. He served several universities as a professor, dean, and academic vice president. He has been producing and broadcasting as a film critic on It’s Movie Time and Cinema Classics for more than two decades. DeSando received the Los Angeles Press Club's first-place honors for national entertainment journalism.