“Pieces of a Woman” Review: Vanessa Kirby and Shia LeBeouf are Stellar in this Strong Awards Player

Pieces of a Woman is a Netflix Original film directed by Kornél Mundruczó and stars Vanessa Kirby and Shia Lebeouf as Martha and Sean, Martha (Vanessa Kirby) a Boston couple on the verge of parenthood whose lives change irrevocably when a home birth ends in unimaginable tragedy. The film begins takes place over a single year and follows Martha navigating her grief while working through fractious relationships with Sean and her arrogant mother (played by Ellen Burstyn), along with the publicly vilified midwife, whom she must face in court.

Perhaps the best part about this film is the first 45 minutes. Within that timeframe the pacing is on point, and that is when I was the most engaged with the film. In this film, there is a one-take sequence that while not for the faint of heart, is executed wonderfully. The way this sequence is shot felt incredibly realistic and is highly commendable. The film as a whole has incredible cinematography. The shots and framing were phenomenal and the muted color scheme really added to the overall tone of the film. The script here is also something that is highly commendable. The screenwriter executed this premise with precision and grace, and the atmosphere and tone really help boost that script even more.

The entire cast of this film is absolutely incredible. Vanessa Kirby hands down gives the best performance of her career and adds so much to the character she portrays. While she isn't necessarily the most likeable person, the way she's written really allows you to sympathize with her grief and Kirby adds a ton of dimension to Martha. While given very little to do, Shia LeBeouf was also quite good in this film. His character grieves in a very different way to Kirby's, and I feel like he was able to perform his role extremely well. Ellen Burstyn is also remarkable in this film, and I will have a lot of issues if she dosen’t pick up a supporting actress nomination at the Oscars this year.

While there is amazing work on display in this film, I do have a couple of issues with this film that need to be discussed. My main issue with this film is the pacing. After that incredible opening act, the film begins to slow down quite a bit, and it really started to strain my attention span. The film is also a little bit too long, running at just over 2 hours without credits. While I feel that the opening 45 minutes and last 10 minutes are spectacular, I felt that at least 20 minutes in the middle of the film could have easily been cut to make the film run under 2 hours.

In the end I thought this was a really good film. While it does struggle to maintain momentum after a splendid opening act, Vanessa Kirby and Shia LeBeouf really kept the film afloat and the film is well written and beautifully shot. This is definitely a strong player this awards season and I definetly recommend watching this film.

Final Grade: B+

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