Pieces of a Woman [Netflix]

Vanessa Kirby was brilliant and the highlight of an otherwise slightly uneven film about grief and loss.  She is a sure lock-in for a Best Actress nomination. Shia LaBeouf and Ellen Burstyn were both good too, the former highly underrated, pity about his personal life though. Nonetheless, they were both excellent scene partners that allowed Kirby to bounce off against. 

This film was really a showcase for Kirby, hence it was a bit unfortunate that director Kornel Mundruczo and writer Kata Wéber decided to not solely focus on Kirby's character and her journey. I do wonder what had been lost in the translation of their play from stage to screen. Because other than the home-birth scene and the final act, which seemed very stage-appropriate, the intervening vignettes depicting the passages of time just seemed falsely deliberate and fleetingly shallow. This scattered narrative only then served to dilute the emotional resonance after that amazing - utterly harrowing - home-birth sequence. 

Equally, and personally, as a supporter of hospital-based delivery, the emotional disconnect in the middle act was at times confusing and disconcerting. 

If Mundruczo and Weber had wanted to explore more of LaBeouf's and Burstyn's characters then they should have used the immediate post-tragedy period to elucidate each of these characters' drive and motivations, instead of diverging the narrative and emotional-weightage away from Kirby. Although, it was good that they chose to do a lot more showing than telling, but that did not take away from the uneven-ness of the film. 

Thankfully, they managed to stick the ending and the resolution was both satisfying and appropriate. It provided the necessary closure and did not seemed too false or saccharine.

Once again, Kirby was fantastic. She was riveting throughout as she fully committed to the role and especially that home-delivery sequence. Her navigation through her grief, her disconnect with her partner and family, and her longing desperation of a child lost was palpable and visceral. But, like I said, the film should have really focused on her; Kirby definitely had the goods to carry the whole 120 minutes on her shoulders. 

Looks like the race for Best Actress is likely settled. My bet for nominees will be Kirby, Carey Mulligan, Viola Davis, Frances McDormand and Sidney Flanigan, with only McDormand's performance still sight unseen. And my favourite to win would be Mulligan (for now, and even then, McDormand already has two Oscars). 

The music was by Howard Shore and was beautiful and elegiac if sometimes a bit too on the nose. Cinematography was by Benjamin Loeb and there were some really gorgeous interior shots and outdoor lighting captured.

Pieces of a Woman was a beautiful piece of film that unfortunately, after a terrific, standout opening sequence, did not fully live up to its potential to be unreservedly great despite Kirby giving a career-best performance and a standout supporting cast.