‘Pieces Of A Woman’ review; Dir. Kornél Mundruczó (2020) [TIFF 2020]

Vanessa Kirby and Shia LaBeouf lead the cast of this devastating drama from Jupiter’s Moon director Kornél Mundruczó, a film that focusses on the fallout of family tragedy, specifically on a young couple initially full of hope for the future.

I don’t think that I’ve seen a more impressive opening of film so far in 2020. The first thirty minutes of Pieces of a Woman – all pre-title card – is perhaps the most harrowing, most difficult to watch, but often the most beautifully staged and acted pieces of cinema I’ve witnessed for quite some time. We open to Shia LaBeouf’s construction worker Sean directing his colleagues as they continue work on the building of a bridge across the Charles river in Boston. He’s stressed out, his mind obviously elsewhere, which we soon learn is concentrated on the state of his partner, Martha (Vanessa Kirby) who is approaching the final stages of pregnancy. They’ve been gifted a new car, a huge SUV, by Martha’s wealthy mother Elizabeth (Ellen Burstyn), and they’re busy preparing the spare room as a nursery. They are expecting a baby girl, and soon into the opening scenes of the movie, Martha is in labour in their apartment, their chosen location for the arrival of their first born.

Sean is soon onto the phone to the midwife, however, she’s unavailable due to an in-progress birth elsewhere in the city. They’re a little put out by this, but a replacement is sent – there’s really not a lot of time or choice to enter argument, and during a 20-minute scene designed to play out as one shot, Martha endures her labour through to birth. However, things don’t go to plan and the baby sadly doesn’t survive. What follows is an examination of the couple’s relationship in the months that follow, the pressure that the event has on their relationship and the clashes between themselves and immediate family over what action must be taken over the midwife’s choices in the lead up to the death of their baby.

Those first thirty minutes of Pieces of a Woman are some of the most powerful seen on screen, both harrowing and, at times, utterly beautiful. A lot of this is due to the wonderfully designed one-shot staging by Mundruczó and his crew, but most of it comes from the two fine performances from both LaBeouf and particularly Vanessa Kirby. They perfectly convey the love shared between Sean and Martha as they approach blissful happiness of the arrival of their daughter, and then utter devastation – all in the space of an almost unwatchable couple of minutes. I couldn’t help but want to escape the pressure cooker and leave the auditorium as their pain becomes apparent. These really are two career-best turns, an absolute show-stopper from Kirby who is definitely bound for awards season success following an already bagged best actress gong at Venice.

There is more delicious acting prowess on display, especially from Ellen Burstyn as the cold mother who only wants the best for her daughter, and that ‘best’ isn’t the working-class Sean who she constantly looks down on. Surely, there’s a supporting statuette reserved for her come next spring, too.

The film runs out of pace slightly as the plot progresses, but this is one of the movies of the year. With Netflix snapping up the rights after that Venice debut, one can’t help but compare it to their 2019 awards magnet Marriage Story and, while it might not quite hit the heights of that movie as an overall package – it is baggy in places – it certainly does in the acting stakes. A sublimely acted, often magnificent piece of work that won’t leave you for days after seeing it.