ReviewNetflix movie review: Pieces of a Woman – Vanessa Kirby excels in laboured relationship drama
- The film, adapted from a stage play, opens with a bravura sequence showing a woman’s home birth, but can’t sustain its naturalism and technical audacity
- What sustains it is outstanding work by Kirby, playing a mother whose newborn dies, Shia LaBoeuf as her husband, and Ellen Burstyn as her overbearing mother
3/5 stars
Vanessa Kirby is certain to earn a first Academy Award nomination for her devastating performance in Pieces of a Woman, the first English-language film from Hungarian director Kornél Mundruczó (White God).
As its title might suggest, Mundruczó’s film, adapted for the screen by Kata Wéber from her own stage play, charts the emotional disintegration of a young mother, Martha, following the death of her newborn baby. Kirby is joined by Shia LaBeouf, as her equally troubled partner, Sean, Ellen Burstyn as her wealthy, overbearing mother, while Molly Parker plays the midwife, who becomes the target of the family’s anger.
After a few brief introductions, Mundruczó delivers a bravura 22-minute home birth sequence, shot in a single unbroken take of breathless intensity that runs the emotional gamut from nervous apprehension, through momentary euphoria, to devastating heartbreak.
It is an exceptional technical achievement, the camera tracking between rooms to observe Martha, Sean, and Eva (Parker) through every wince-inducing contraction. Similarly, the performances from all three resonate with an unbridled authenticity. It is a sequence that ranks among the very best in cinema this year.