Hungarian Director Kornel Mundrocuzo brings a matter of fact cool to cold mentality to a family tragedy in his first English Language feature Pieces of a Woman. Martha (Vanessa Kirby) is a well to do corporate earner attending her work baby show in an aloof manner at the opening of the film. She leaves the office surrounded by a sea of glass heading down the elevator to the street. Her husband Sean (Shia LeBeouf) is working with his construction team as an engineer building a bridge in Boston harbour pushing them to move faster to pick up the pace to get the project completed. He realizes that its 3:00 P.M. and he has to leave. He heads to a dealership where his brother-in-law Chris (Benny Safdie) is selling Martha and he a car that is being paid for by his mother-in-law Elisabeth (Ellen Burstyn). Immediately it's evident that she does not like him, does not think that he is a good choice for her daughter, and seems to take every opportunity to humiliate him using her financial might.
The couple is happy as their daughter is due soon. The nursery is set up, Sean gives Martha a framed ultrasound images to place in the room as things seem to be all set for the home birth. Martha's contractors begin prompting the call to the midwife. She is not available which puts the mother to be into a panic and a backup Eva (Molly Parker) is sent to perform the delivery. Eva is very positive but things begin to go wrong. She is slow too and not forceful in making the call to move Martha to a hospital and tragedy strikes.
The increasing level of urgency is communicated through the tracking of the camera. When things begin to happen it tracks between Eva, Sean and Martha like a swing going back and forth. Martha screams this does not feel right mixed in with cuss words and a change in Sean's joking attitude shows the viewer that something could be wrong. Eva also takes analysis in-camera broadcasting the early strong heartbeat to the couple then as the heartbeat slows those readings are for her only though headphones.
As suggested by the title this is Vanessa Kirby's film. Her ordeal from leaning against the stove trying to breathe calmly to ambulance arrival is a full roller coaster of feelings include nausea, pain, confusion, disbelief, panic, hope then ending in devastation. After the tragedy, she becomes even more distant. Felling the need to stare whenever children especially young girls are about perhaps wondering what if. She also appears irrational wandering around in a trance like state, storming back to work unexpectedly, not caring about the consequence of her actions. She wants to give her baby to the University for research, shows no interest in a lawsuit against the midwife to obtain a level of justice and some closure. Her actions and attitude put her mother and Sean on the same side which to her looks like they are ganging up on her.
Pieces of a Woman is a study in loss and trauma and how those feeling affect people differently. In Sean's case a recovering addict he slips back into old patterns, alternating between helplessness and anger while battling against the strong wills of his wife and mother in law. Martha's Mother Elisabeth as is her nature looks to control the situation deciding without asking what is best for her daughter for her to be able to move on. It's the raw destruction of a relationship not too unlike last years Marriage Story that struggles to keep up to the level of the pre-title card continuous 24 minute birthing sequence the rest of the way.
**1/2 Out of 4.
Pieces of A Woman | Kornel Mundruczo | Canada / Hungary / U.S.A. | 126 Minutes.
Tags: Baby Shower, Home Birth, Midwife, Flippin Cards, Infant Death, Seattle, Bridge, Boston Harbor, Mini Van, Criminal Charges, Court Case, Developing Film, Scattering Ashes.
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