Pieces Of A Woman: The Pain Parents Bare

Pieces Of A Woman is a drama film directed by Kornel Mundruczo. The plot follow the fallout of a disastrous home birth that resulted in the death of a child. The film examines grief from both the mother’s (Vanessa Kirby) and the father’s (Shia LaBeouf) points of view.

So before I get into this review, I just want to condemn LaBeouf who is an alleged sexual abuser and batterer. His involvement with this film did but me off it, but I managed to separate my feelings and watch it with an unbiased eye.

This is a film that you need to be emotionally ready for. You will need some form of emotional support to get through this film, at least I found that to be the case for me. I think this is a needed film, and I think even though it is an uncomfortable subject, it is something everyone needs to see so that we can better understand the troubles that some mothers have to go through.

The upsetting thing about this film is just how real it feels. This is a bleak film for many reasons and as a viewer you can separate yourself from that bleakness as it is just something happening on the screen; however a lot of people can’t escape it and this is life for a lot of people.

I think Kirby is terrific here and this should be the film that finally nets here both mainstream attention, as a serious actor, and also awards. Her performance is so raw and powerful that I challenge you not to feel anything from it. LaBeouf is also good and has his dramatic moments do shine but this is defiantly Kirby’s film.

The one negative I would say about the film is that it feels too neat. By that I mean the film feels a bit too rehearsed, a bit too much like a stage play. I think that some of the scenes border on overacting and seem to steam from an overly broad approach to the film as a whole. To be blunt, a lot of the scenes feel like actors acting not real life.

Overall, though the acting feels a little overdone at times and a bit removed from reality, this is still a much-needed piece of film that breaks down a taboo that should never have been there in the first place.

Pros.

The emotional impact

Breaking down taboos

Kirby

The ending

Cons.

It feels too rehearsed

4/5

Reviewed by Luke