For 128 minutes, Vanessa Kirby has you hooked to her every move in Kornel Mundruczo’s “Pieces of a Woman.” As Martha, a high-powered executive who loses her child during a harrowing home birth, Kirby mesmerizes by showcasing the human frailty and devastation that happens when tragedy comes knocking at her door. Her acting tour-de-force reminded me of Gena Rowlands’ masterful work in John Cassavetes’ 1974 classic, “Woman Under the Influence.”
Shot in one long 23-minute continuous take, the opening scene is a harrowing one to watch and sets up the stakes for the rest of the film, which flows magnificently well thanks to Mundruczo firm grasp of his narrative — his work here is a directorial high-wire act of the highest order.
In addition to Kirby and Mundruczo, and aided by Howard Shore‘s subtle and moving score, DP Benjamin Loeb should be given credit for creating visual miracles with his camera. In fact, the tech aspects of this film are damn-near astounding, made with the kind of artistry rarely seen these days at the movies.
Taking place in the months following the tragic loss of Martha’s child at birth, “Pieces of a Woman” tracks the disintegrating relationship between Martha and her husband Sean (Shia LaBoeuf), a construction-foreman and recovering alcoholic. Ellen Burstyn is Martha’s overbearing mother, consistently interfering in their grieving process, going as far as hiring a slick lawyer (Sarah Snook) to sue the midwife (Molly Parker) present when she lost her baby.
“Pieces of a Woman” inhabits the psyche of Martha, her withdrawal from the world, her fury, culpability, the incapacity to deal with a grief so immense that it affects anyone who comes in close contact to her. lt all amounts to a cathartic decision at the film’s climax, a final act of deep humanism that feels both right and as a result of the slow culmination of everything that came before it. Kirby tackles the role in ways that, despite some familiar stretches in the screenplay, feel fresh, innovative, and damn-near transcendent. I haven’t seen a better performance this year. [B+]