Writer & Director / Kelly Reichardt (WENDY AND LUCY, NIGHT MOVES, OLD JOY)
Stars/ Laura Dern, Jared Harris, Michelle Williams, James Le Gros, Lily Gladstone and Kristen Stewart

The third collaboration between Oscar-nominated actress Michelle Williams and award-winning filmmaker Kelly Reichardt is based on three short stories by Maile Meloy, which intersect. Two of these stories, Tome and Native Sandstone are from her Half In Love collection while the other story Travis, B. is from Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It. 

The first of three short stories to commence CERTAIN WOMEN stars Laura Dern (WILD, JURASSIC PARK) as a lawyer that is having difficulties with a client who is not satisfied with his workers compensation settlement. The next tale revolves around Gina (Michelle Williams) as she tries to acquire sandstone for a home she wishes to build while managing frustrations with her husband and tensions with her teenage daughter. The final chapter of this film centres on a ranch hand named Jamie (newcomer Lily Gladstone) who has taken an interest in attending school law classes held by a young lawyer named Beth (Kristen Stewart). 

One unmistakable connection shared by each of the three stories is location. Filmed and set entirely in Montana, USA, writer/director Kelly Reichardt relies heavily upon the authenticity of the stark and leaden scenery to bring her audience closer with each character, achieving this in a manner that is reminiscent of the Turkish masterpiece WINTER SLEEP. This alone is enough to keep CERTAIN WOMEN an absorbing film, though the first two thirds are more prone to causing tedium. The two short stories that are told during this time are ultimately too shallow and mundane. In particular, the first fable let’s down due to an unconvincing development which is crucial to its trajectory. A minor improvement is made once CERTAIN WOMEN moves across to its second story. This does register a little more interest, mostly thanks to a piece of detail that connects it to the previous story. These two stories combined are incomparable to the excellent execution of a tenderly rendered final tale, which has much more depth and is bound to strike the strongest reaction of them all from its audience. This last chapter also unveils a beautifully nuanced and precise performance from promising new talent Lily Gladstone, who has won 9 of the 13 awards collected by this film so far.

This American drama, which is the very first film from directed by Kelly Reichardt to gross $1 million at the box office, does build a reasonable level of anticipation by way of its forthcoming character connections and potential outcomes to be revealed. However, almost all hopes are proven to be false in a film that doesn’t quite manage to work as a whole.

2 ½ stars

Viewer Discretion/ M (coarse language)

Trailer / CERTAIN WOMEN

Review by Moviedoc / “LIKE” on Facebook – Moviedoc

©