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Heartache makes Pieces of A Woman

by Kathia Woods

One of the most horrifying things a couple can experience is the death of a child. You planned and prepared. Pieces of a Woman looks at how this terrible loss affects a couple. Martha Weiss (Vanessa Kirby) and Sean Carson (Shia LeBeouf) are the couple in question dealing with this heartbreak. They opted for a home birth. Everything was moving along; Sean was supportive of Martha as she is coping with excruciating labor pains. Their child is born, and then the unthinkable occurs; the baby is non responsive.

This event signifies the unraveling of a relationship. Two people that were planning a family are now barely co-existing. The opening will have you sucked in; however, just like the childbirth, things start turning sour. I mean this figuratively. Things begin to fall apart not only in Sean and Martha's relationship but in the film.

The best part of Pieces of a Woman is the performances. Since her turn as Princess Margaret on The Crown, Vanessa Kirby has been on a winning streak. The way she depicted labor was authentic and believable. She is outstanding as Martha, a woman that is stuck. Martha is trying to process the loss while being torn between her mother and her boyfriend.

Shia LeBeouf is continuing his road to redemption as Sean. In Pieces Of A Woman, he carries the emotions. He's the one that is openly grieving. Ellen Burstyn is a veteran, so it's not surprising to see her excel as the domineering Elizabeth Weiss.

The performances aren't the issue with this movie; it's the story. The beginning of the film dances with an emotional loss but does not address the pain. A couple loses a child, and there is no conversation had about that loss. Granted, we all deal with loss differently, but nothing. No effort to get counseling or talk. The other troublesome part is that Martha never asked to see her child again or to hold her. I can understand delayed grief, but she swept this nightmare aside. Martha also never acknowledged Sean. They lost a child.

She allowed her mother, even in grief, to railroad the situation. Losing a child can bring two people together or apart, but there is a bond there. There is an understanding that this person knows your pain none of this was explored; instead, these two people branched off into new journeys without closure.

There is also uncomfortable editing in this film. The film keeps leaping forward. Such as the whole courtroom portion that involved an awkward monologue.

Was the courtroom scene supposed to replace grief? That portion of the film seemed forced. It also required that the audience take a leap of faith when it comes to the side story of Suzanne (Sarah Snook), the attorney, Anita (Iliza Shlesinger), the sister, and Chris, aka Car salesman(Bennie Safdie) to be connected.

It is required that the audience accepts these turns while the filmmakers fail to address grief. I was also excited to see Jimmie Fails in this film as Max, but he served no purpose. He's in this film for five minutes.

Pieces of a Woman is a film that starts of great but loses steam after thirty minutes. The viewer keeps waiting for the parts to reconnect, and by the time they do, the film is over. Vanessa Kirby and Ellen Burstyn give you great performances; however, that doesn't save the movie. Kornél Mundruczó, the director and writer Kata Wéber failed these women by only giving them thirty minutes of content. Sadly, one needs a complete story to have an entire film. Pieces of Woman gets an A for intent and C for execution