Pieces of a Woman

Name: Pieces of a Woman
Genre: Drama
Released: December 30, 2020
Duration: 126 min
Rating: 66
Cast: Ben Safdie, Domenic Di Rosa, Ellen Burstyn, Iliza Shlesinger, Jimmie Fails

2020

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 41 Critic Reviews

See All

USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 112 Ratings

See All

6.6

VOTE NOW

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

6.6	Your Score
6.6	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 112 Ratings

Would you like to write a review?

There is a 75 character minimum for reviews. If your review contains spoilers, please check the Spoiler box. Please do not use ALL CAPS. There is no linking or other HTML allowed. Your review may be edited for content. 0/5000

Check box if your review contains spoilers

Play Sound

Please enter your birth date to watch this video:

You are not allowed to view this material at this time.

Pieces Of A Woman

Now Playing: Pieces Of A Woman

Movie Details & Credits

Netflix | Release Date: December 30, 2020 | Not Rated

Starring: Ben Safdie, Domenic Di Rosa, Ellen Burstyn, Iliza Shlesinger, Jimmie Fails, Molly Parker, Sarah Snook, Shia LaBeouf, Vanessa Kirby, Vanessa Smythe

Movie Facts:

Available on Netflix January 7.

Summary: Martha (Vanessa Kirby) and Sean (Shia LaBeouf) are a Boston couple on the verge of parenthood whose lives change irrevocably when a home birth ends in unimaginable tragedy. Thus begins a yearlong odyssey for Martha, who must navigate her grief while working through fractious relationships with her husband and her domineering mother (EllenMartha (Vanessa Kirby) and Sean (Shia LaBeouf) are a Boston couple on the verge of parenthood whose lives change irrevocably when a home birth ends in unimaginable tragedy. Thus begins a yearlong odyssey for Martha, who must navigate her grief while working through fractious relationships with her husband and her domineering mother (Ellen Burstyn), along with the publicly vilified midwife (Molly Parker), whom she must face in court. … Expand

Director: Kornél Mundruczó

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 126 min

See All Details and Credits

Watch Now

Stream On

Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

100

Wendy Ide

Jan 3, 2021

The film is acutely perceptive on the effect of a bereavement on other people. Read full review

James Berardinelli

Dec 30, 2020

The movie isn’t for those who crave light, uplifting entertainment. Instead, it’s for those who want a precise, visceral experience from a motion picture. Read full review

Jeannette Catsoulis

Dec 30, 2020

Set over eight harrowing months, Pieces of a Woman is a ragged, mesmerizing study of rupture and reconstruction. The ending is ill-judged, but the movie understands that while we love in common, we grieve alone. Read full review

David Rooney

Sep 12, 2020

Those with the stomach for a forcefully acted representation of the gut-wrenching impact and long-range after-effects of sudden infant death will be rewarded with moments both powerful and affecting. Read full review

Katey Rich

Dec 30, 2020

The film’s inarguable high point is its a bravura opening sequence, which relies on Kirby to bring everything to the surface— a (seemingly) single-take, 23-minute childbirth scene, which ends in devastation. It’s a bold statement of purpose for a film that doesn’t quite know where to go from there, but for Kirby it’s merely the beginning of yet another career-defining performance, and probably only the second of many. Read full review

Josh Larsen

Mar 25, 2021

When Pieces of a Woman is at its best, it’s focusing on this traumatized couple and how neither knows how to make room for the other’s grieving process, partly because their respective processes conflict. Unfortunately the movie wants to be so much more. Read full review

Richard Brody

Jan 15, 2021

Its effortful grandiosity transforms it into something hollow and even, at times, risible. Read full review

SEE ALL 41 REVIEWS

Write a Review

User Reviews

wilf2020

Jan 2, 2021

Vanessa Kirby is absolutely divine in this film with one of the bravest and boldest performances I have ever seen on screen as an actor. Give her all the awards!

1 of 4 users found this helpful13

Mardiaz

Jan 10, 2021

Just breathtaking, and if you are a woman you would feel the anguish and the sadness of Martha. It’s a powerful movie that make you feel what the characters are going through

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

bertobellamy

Jan 11, 2021

Kornél Mundruczó's first English-language feature film is about loss and coming to terms with it. With Vanessa Kirby and Ellen Burstyn's phenomenal performances, 'Pieces of a Woman' shows us the different ways of dealing with pain. With a very emotional one-shot sequence as the core, theKornél Mundruczó's first English-language feature film is about loss and coming to terms with it. With Vanessa Kirby and Ellen Burstyn's phenomenal performances, 'Pieces of a Woman' shows us the different ways of dealing with pain. With a very emotional one-shot sequence as the core, the film succeeds at moving very sensible fibers. Unfortunately, a subplot involving a lawyer and Shia Lebouf's character's extreme antagonization don't work very well. Nevertheless, this film will make you care about the main character as a few do.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

dfelixf

Jan 7, 2021

Es un poco lenta, las actuaciones tienen más relevancia que la trama en sí. En el primer acto podemos ver, literalmente, la introducción y el climax de la película —muy bien dirigido, a mi parecer. Lo único bueno del segundo acto fue esa discusión entre Martha y su mamá. Y las actuacionesEs un poco lenta, las actuaciones tienen más relevancia que la trama en sí. En el primer acto podemos ver, literalmente, la introducción y el climax de la película —muy bien dirigido, a mi parecer. Lo único bueno del segundo acto fue esa discusión entre Martha y su mamá. Y las actuaciones están a otro nivel, dignas de ser nominadas en esta temporada de premios.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

Bradh6886

Jan 7, 2021

Opens on one of the most powerful long takes in recent memory, but not even the masterful performances by Kirby and Burstyn could save the dry 2nd and 3rd acts. Resolution felt incomplete. Kirby elevates an otherwise tough sit.

2 of 4 users found this helpful22

Dan_B

Jan 13, 2021

Español / English

Abstract Español Al terminar Fragmentos de una mujer me pregunté: ¿qué se propusieron contarme y decirme el director Kornél Mundruczó y su esposa, la guionista Kata Weber con esta película? ¿una historia sobre los efectos de la pérdida y los mecanismos del duelo, entreEspañol / English

Abstract Español

Al terminar Fragmentos de una mujer me pregunté: ¿qué se propusieron contarme y decirme el director Kornél Mundruczó y su esposa, la guionista Kata Weber con esta película? ¿una historia sobre los efectos de la pérdida y los mecanismos del duelo, entre otros temas?
Luego de su efectista y (demasiado) prolongada secuencia inicial en tiempo real, el problema de esta película es que no logra traducir adecuadamente todos su tópicos y conflictos en términos dramáticos a través de personajes y de una historia que evolucionen y conmuevan y cuyos elementos se ensamblen y complementen. Además, la estructura fragmentaria del relato, que recurre a la elipsis en forma sistemática, tampoco contribuye a la conexión del espectador; de ahí, en parte, el nombre de “Fragmentos”. Ni siquiera las actuaciones (tan “oscarizables”) me resultaron descollantes.
------------------------------------------------------------------
English Abstract

At the end of Fragments of a Woman I asked myself: what did the director Kornél Mundruczó and his wife, the screenwriter Kata Weber, set out to tell me about with this film? A story about the effects of loss and the mechanisms of grief, among other topics?

After its gimmicky and (too) long opening sequence in real time, the problem with this film is that it fails to adequately translate all its topics and conflicts in dramatic terms through characters and a story that evolve and move and whose elements are Assemble and complement. Furthermore, the fragmentary structure of the story, which uses ellipsis in a systematic way, does not contribute to the viewer's connection either; hence, in part, the name "Fragments." Not even the performances (so “Oscar-winning”) were outstanding to me.
----------------------------------------------------------------

Reseña Español
Esta vez, en lugar de comenzar por una reseña argumental, debo preguntarme ¿qué se propusieron decirme el director Kornél Mundruczó y su esposa, guionista Kata Weber con esta película?
Uno podría responder: relatarnos una historia sobre los efectos de la pérdida en la agudización de los contrastes de un matrimonio, sobre la negación como mecanismo de defensa, sobre el duelo como mandato o imposición, sobre la ética del resarcimiento, sobre las diferencias de clase en una pareja, sobre las nuevas modas obstétricas, sobre las madres manipuladoras, sobre las mujeres y sus cuerpos gestantes, sobre la culpa juedocristiana… todo como correlato de una (demasiado) extensa y efectista escena inicial (que generará ríos de admiración en parte del público) filmada en plano secuencia y que si aspira a golpear al espectador, hará que decaiga algo su interés por el resto del relato de en aquéllos que sean alcanzados por su (supuesta) dureza.

El problema de esta película es que no logra traducir adecuadamente todos esos tópicos y conflictos (si es que se trata de todos ellos) en términos dramáticos a través de personajes y de una historia que evolucionen y conmuevan y cuyos elementos se ensamblen y complementen. Además, la estructura fragmentaria del relato, que recurre a la elipsis en forma sistemática, tampoco contribuye a la conexión del espectador; de ahí, en parte, el nombre de “Fragmentos”. Ni siquiera las actuaciones me resultaron descollantes.
Personalmente, entonces, me ha resultado imposible empatizar con sus personajes, salvo algunos pocos momentos con la protagonista (Vanessa Kirby) y detestar un poco a su pareja (el sobreactuado Shia LaBoeuf)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------… Expand

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

roscoeswaffle

Jan 11, 2021

I do believe that the phrase “aesthetically gimcrack” was coined with movies exactly like this in mind.

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

SEE ALL 24 REVIEWS