Certain Women (2016)

Review

107min

Genre:      Drama

Director:   Kelly Reichardt

Cast:        Michelle Williams, Laura Dern, Lily Gladstone…and more

Writers:    Kelly Reichardt and Maile Meloy

-Synopsis-

Writer/director Kelly Reichardt’s nuanced character study set in contemporary small-town Montana, where the lives of three very different women intersect as they struggle with life’s trials and try to make their way in a world not of their making in this quiet drama about everyday Americans—from a rare all-female perspective.

After making waves at last year’s film festival circuit and walking away with the ‘in competition’ best film award at the London Film Festival, Reichardt brings to UK screens her adaptation of Maile Meloy’s collection of short stories ‘Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It’, in a subtle and tentatively connected story of ‘everywomen’ in modern-day middle America as they struggle with outer appearances and inner conflicts.

‘Certain Women’ follows the path of three women in rural and small-town northern USA; middle-aged local lawyer ‘Laura’ (Laura Dern) who becomes uncomfortably entangled with a disgruntled client after he escalates a workplace accident case, ‘Gina’ (Michelle Williams) the thirty-something mother-of-one who juggles her ambition with marriage and a responsibility to a resentful teenager, and young native-American ranch stable-hand ‘Jamie’ (Lily Gladstone)—who quietly deals with isolation while struggling with the confusing emotions she develops for an equally youthful night-school law teacher ‘Beth’ (Kristen Stewart).

In an industry struggling to be seen as more culturally representative but slow to push forth women filmmakers and a ‘female narrative’—it’s left to independent cinema with its relative emancipation from the bottom line, and directors like Reichardt to artistically and earnestly advance the agenda. Now thanks to Meloy’s  self-reflective series of short stories, ‘Certain Women’ brings us a vividly shot and narrative understated human drama, which delicately dissects humble working-class America from the ‘fairer sex’s’ perspective—to the delight of many a film critic which it seems to have enchanted.

‘Certain Women’ paints the story of three distinct women using a melancholy brush, while Reichardt strains to directly connect them with little benefit—particularly since they’re inevitably linked by time, place, and a core theme of women struggling to make and maintain meaningful emotional connections while retaining a quiet dignity . . . in a society where they feel invisible in plain sight. No doubt the film is meant to stoke gender discussions while revolving around a theme of strong women surrounded by weak men, but it never feels sermonic of overbearing, instead just offering a different perspective on the classic American ‘working-man’ narrative.

The film is certainly an example of the mid 90s indie school of ultra-realist filmmaking, employing a minimalist style which includes virtually no soundtrack or score—until the most opportune moment—and is shot entirely on location, with cinematographer Christopher Blauvelt making good use of natural light to paint a vivid backdrop, using the picturesque but unforgiving beauty of the rural Montana winter landscape.

It’s safe to say that ‘Certain Women’ is a film about people not plot. Unconcerned with having a coherent narrative that goes anywhere or any overt character development, the film deals with things as they are and as they unfold at the slow pace of life, with the camera often lingering on shots where characters emote through subtle expressions and longing glances, as Reichardt explores the minutiae of everyday life and how these women quietly endure and power through it.

‘Certain Women’ is a film which undoubtedly will give you as much as you take into it, and indeed the level of its emotional nourishment will depend on what you project into the piece yourself. With the lingering spaces it leaves between the spaces, and a subtle nature which borders on the subliminal, the narrative is asking the audience to do a little too much of the work here. It’s not that we’re asking for that most heinous of things here—emotional closure, but the wistful tones and lack of incident leaves it feeling like an underwhelming batch of real life vignettes . . . which are far less insightful than they purport to be.

Despite nuanced 1st act performances by the always empathetic indie veteran Laura Dern and luminescent Michelle Williams, it’s really newcomer Lily Gladstone as the young ranch worker—and her tenuous connection with Kristen Stewart’s travelling supply teacher—which breathes tangible emotional life into the film. Ultimately Reichardt has sketched a sincere and fresh mood-painting from a singular perspective on a canvas of cinematic realism, but one which feels unfinished and a bit too subtle for its own good.

The Bottom Line…

A visually alluring but melancholy and almost still cinematic moving portrait of everyday American women—with an understated focus on their societal roles and quiet inner struggles—‘Certain Women’ is too subtle for its own good and too thinly drawn to be an indie gem on its own merits. But this is still a well-acted and unique take on the reflective working-class American drama, which is quite an achievement for a film where nothing really happens . . . but life.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Wild (2014)

Reese Witherspoon stars in this real-life account of a young woman on a downward spiral due to a tragic event in her life, who hikes 1,100 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail alone from the Mojave Desert to Washington State along the American West Coast to recover her former self.

Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée and starring Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern and Thomas Sadoski among others.

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