Some films make you step back and think about your own life, your own morality and selfishness-and this one definitely did it for me. I was amazed by the depiction of these characters (who were loosely based on real life women), and the power they had to forgive and keep their faith. To have one of the greatest, if not the greatest, evils perpetrated against you and to be lied about the very crime, and yet to look forward with hope and love is something inspiring to say the least. And I don't think this film is just about gender. When August talks about teenage boys, he explains how they can indeed be dangerous, but that they also have tender and poignant emotions that need time and love to develop and be sustained. He sees hope in those boys. And in one of the most moving scenes in the film, when Ona is asked how she can stand having a rapist's baby inside her and actually love it, she explains how the baby is as innocent as all of us, just as the rapist was at the moment of his birth. Ona represents an undying optimism for humankind, one that is bolstered by her faith and ability to forgive, and I was certainly moved by her portrayal by Rooney Mara.
Some reviewers felt that the movie was slow and stagy, but I was thoroughly gripped with the drama and dialogue of the film. The performances are great, and the cinematography is focused and efficient at setting a somber mood with rays of beauty (like the time lapse of the setting sun, the children playing in the waves of grain, the starlit barn), and I believe Sarah Polley's decision to mute the color gradient was a smart one. Another aspect I found particularly effective was the score by Hildur-it was beautiful and tense, yet not overly sentimental, with minor key guitar strums that propelled the momentum of the one-day set film, while also creating a dreary and apprehensive mood as the women await their decision and fate.
Overall, I was moved and captivated by this film, enough that I wanted to write this review. And I can't say that for many movies.
