and the Terms and Policies, The world of emotions that play across Gladstone as Jamie starts the long drive home is heartbreaking. The three primary characters in the film are, each in their way, fundamentally unseen. Certain Women more than justifies itself as a serious argument for the beauty of the small and intimate drama and … Written and directed by Kelly Reichardt (Meek’s Cutoff, Night Moves), the film assembles several movie stars for a triptych of minor-key Montana character sketches, each based on a story by award-winning author Malie Meloy. |, May 18, 2017 |, March 3, 2017 A review of Kelly Reichardt's "Certain Women," starring Michelle Williams, Laura Dern and Kristen Stewart. [Reichardt's] dedicated naturalism allows her audience the freedom to feel as freely and deeply as she does about her characters and their lives. I am one who traditionally does not mind slowly paced films if the story is told thoroughly and well. But this film never has any sort of payoff, and it doesn't even seem to be all that concerned with it's own concept. Don't have an account? | Rating: 4/5 Certain Women's whispers are more penetrating than most film's shouts. |, April 21, 2017 Reichardt seemingly adapts many of her films from short stories or collections of short stories. |, April 28, 2020 There's a quiet feminism to each of the three narratives that is always simmering in the background. Forgot your password? There's no arguing that Certain Women has moments of incredible power. Cinemark A quiet, female-focused triptych of tales that keeps its scope quite modest. Film Science, May 19, 2017 What's really important in the film is all internal and Reichardt's direction and the excellent performances of all four women give us the time to see below the surface and start to feel how these women themselves experience their lives. Cinemark Stage 6 Films, The characters hardly interact with each other, and if the half-hearted attempt to tie what are essentially vignettes centered around Dern, Michelle Williams, and Lily Gladstone together had any purpose other than "They live in Montana", maybe this would have some deeper purpose or meaning. Please click the link below to receive your verification email. Certain Women feels comparable to Rebecca Miller’s celebrated 2002 title Personal Velocity, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and also featured three distinct women taking command of their own destinies. In a movie characterised by delicate, precise movements from a formidable ensemble, it is soulful Gladstone - whose ancestors include both William Gladstone and treaty chief Red Crow - who leaves the most indelible impression. [Full review in Spanish]. | Rating: 5/5 So says Laura (Laura Dern), a lawyer desperately in need of some rest, in the first story of the triptych that makes up Kelly Reichardt’s sixth feature Certain Women. Certain Women isn't meant to have. Observant, heartfelt, and incredibly eloquent, Reichardt's latest unfolds with poetic finesse, building to a powerful crescendo of sublimated emotion. Reichardt is said to craft these methodically paced character studies that exist more for their introspective takes on the lives of their characters than anything resembling plot. The percentage of Approved Tomatometer Critics who have given this movie a positive review. Please enter your email address and we will email you a new password. Coming Soon, Regal Disc Review: Certain Women marks Reichardt’s first entry in the Criterion Collection, which grants the title a new 2K digital transfer, which was supervised by the director and DP Christopher Blauvelt. The percentage of users who rated this 3.5 stars or higher. |, June 27, 2020 As strong as we appear to be, sometimes we just want men (and Kristen Stewart) to listen to us, to trust us, to believe us. In this novel, the main character Emma is facing marital problems and the impending death of her father. stars 4 out of 5 stars. All rights reserved. By Rich Cline. Sundance Film Review: ‘Certain Women’ Kelly Reichardt's wonderful triptych of female character studies confirms her status as the quietest of great American filmmakers. All rights reserved. Besides Gladstone's performance, "Certain Women" doesn't have anything going for it that would make it memorable. By Guy Lodge It’s simply unnecessary when we have scenes that convey a wealth of information in a touch, a look or an expression. IFC Films, Certain Women is one of Madeleine L'Engle's grown-up books. Sign up here. Regal By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy | Rating: 4.5/5 |, October 2, 2019 Get the freshest reviews, news, and more delivered right to your inbox! We will hear that train again, blaring its horn in the background of these characters’ lives, both connecting them in … Great. This is not a film of big revelations or ready-made solutions. It is clear by its mixed reviews that this film is a very acquired taste. In many ways, Reichardt’s more elusively designed film manages to be much more provocative thanks to her subtlety. Eventful Movies is your source for Certain Women reviews by the top movie critics. A lawyer (Laura Dern) tries to defuse a hostage situation and calm her disgruntled client (Jared Harris), who feels slighted by a workers' compensation settlement. Please reference “Error Code 2121” when contacting customer service. | Rating: 4/5 The image is an example of a ticket confirmation email that AMC sent you when you purchased your ticket. The three stories, which very loosely overlap, are handled in a minimalist yet subtly emotional manner and this calm, understated film is a delight. Certain Women Review. We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future. The resulting quietude and honesty doesn't detract from the emotionality of the film; on the contrary, it lends a realism that hits home all the harder. John Anderson Oct 13, 2016. April Wolfe Oct 13, 2016. Sidney Poitier’s 7 Most Memorable Performances, All Harry Potter Movies Ranked Worst to Best by Tomatometer. Certain Women belongs to the four women at its core. Certain Women review: Kelly Reichardt returns melancholy yet triumphant. With the third act, the power of Reichardt's elliptical approach becomes apparent. read the whole review at www.reviewsfromabed.com. A lawyer ( Laura Dern) tries to defuse a hostage situation and calm her disgruntled client ( Jared Harris ), who feels slighted by a workers' compensation settlement. ), veteran author L'Engle recounts—with characteristic lucidity and wisdom—the tale of a dying actor paying tribute to … Earthy, real, and rich despite its understated narratives, Certain Women will reward patient cinemagoers with its delicate detail. Your Ticket Confirmation # is located under the header in your email that reads "Your Ticket Reservation Details". We want to hear what you have to say but need to verify your account. Boring gives us time to meditate on concepts, to relish the visuals, and to anticipate action and emotion. Reichardt uses the expansive, empty Northwestern landscape to powerful effect in Certain Women, and by the time all is said and done, you can't help but feel both a little more lonely and a little more of a kindred spirit with these characters. Every bit contains wisdom that stretches as far as the eye can see. Copyright © Fandango. This was my introduction to Kelly Reichardt's cinematic offerings, and the nicest thing I could say is that she knows where to point a camera. Sign up for Eventful's The Reel Buzz newsletter and receive the latest movie information, user and critic reviews … certain women by Madeleine L'Engle ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1992 In her latest foray into adult fiction (after A Severed Wasp, 1983, etc. Certain Women comes closer than most. [Note: This is a re-post of my Certain Women review from the 2016 New York Film Festival.The film opens in limited release this weekend.] and the Terms and Policies, 'Certain Women': EW review 'Certain Women': EW review. Kristen Stewart in “Certain Women.”. Reichardt more than ever feels like a director who is using cinema in a way that is wonderfully at odds with our expectations for the medium. There is a fine line between being understated and simply being uninteresting and unfortunately Certain Women skirts that line too often to fall on that minimal, but effective side of things. Besides a fine, but completely unremarkable performance from Laura Dern and the photography being good, that will be the extent of my congratulations. “It would be so lovely to think that, if I were a man, I could explain the law and people would listen… that would be so restful.”. Certain Women is my introduction to the much celebrated writer/director Kelly Reichardt who has crafted such films as Wendy and Lucy and Night Moves. If you are a certain person, the kind that likes things to happen in their movies, you will certainly not like this film. Observant, heartfelt, and incredibly eloquent, Reichardt's latest unfolds with poetic finesse, building to a powerful crescendo of sublimated emotion. Presented in 1.85:1 with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio, this is exactly the type of presentation this title deserves. Three strong-willed women (Kristen Stewart, Laura Dern, Michelle Williams) strive to forge their own paths amidst the wide-open plains of the American Northwest: a lawyer who finds herself contending with both office sexism and a hostage situation; a wife and mother whose determination to build her dream home puts her at odds with the men in her life; and a young law student who forms an ambiguous bond with a lonely ranch hand. I can understand and again even appreciate that this is very much a film that speaks to the complex and misunderstood experiences of the female in our male-driven society, but as a product that is intended to convince me of the discrepancies and double standards females deal with on a daily basis that males might not even consider I took away very little by way of enlightenment. Coming Soon. Perfectly tuned for its quietude imbued in loneliness and longing, Certain Women is certainly one of her finest films to date... Certain Women never detaches from Reichardt's personal aesthetic to work as good drama. Reichardt paints life's small contours with the brush of a majestic poetess, giving voice to the seemingly unremarkable -- even mundane -- aspects of living and imbuing them with secrets and mysteries that have the power to enchant us, even make us cry. Reichardt uses the expansive, empty Northwestern landscape to powerful effect in Certain Women, and by the time all is said and done, you can't help but feel both a little more lonely and a little more of a kindred spirit with these characters. [Reichardt's] dedicated naturalism allows her audience the freedom to feel as freely and deeply as she does about her characters and their lives. Read full review. and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and Fandango. |, July 17, 2020 Tweet. Review: ‘Certain Women’. Read full review. The resulting quietude and honesty doesn't detract from the emotionality of the film; on the contrary, it lends a realism that hits home all the harder. Great performances anchor a slow-to-build film that's somewhat undone by the feeling that, although much has happened, nothing much really has. Updated October 17, 2016 at 05:39 PM EDT Advertisement. Director Kelly Reichardt returns with another brilliantly understated study of love and desire. Just below that it reads "Ticket Confirmation#:" followed by a 10-digit number. Certain Women earnestly articulates the lonely frustration of being a certain type of woman -- certain as in particular as well as in self-assured. Reichardt's latest might be undeniably sad at times, but it's also devoid of self-pity and apathy. To say that this film is boring would be an understatement and a bit of an insult to boringness itself. But no, all we see is that women have a difficult time, and they are sad or resigned about it. If the script had been longer than 6 pages, and if they would have replaced the horse feeding sequences that take up a third of the movie with, I don't know, some dialogue or a plot, it might have turned out better. | Rotten (16). This 10-digit number is your confirmation number. They won't be able to see your review if you only submit your rating. What's particularly great, besides the film's uncanny ability to replicate the sensation of reading a heady, well-collected, complementary collection of short stories, is the tactful feminism deployed in casual asides and male absence. But the film itself can be greatly uneven. It's gentle and finely executed storytelling about ordinary people longing for connection and meaning as they face the challenges of another day. Become an amateur movie reviewer by providing your review on movies now playing in theaters. Certain Women is my introduction to the much celebrated writer/director Kelly Reichardt who has crafted such films as Wendy and Lucy and Night Moves. [Full review in Spanish]. In films like Wendy and Lucy and Meek's Cutoff, writer-director Kelly Reichardt has told sharply pointed stories about women's lives. Coming Soon. Don’t worry, it won’t take long. Aug 20, 2008 TC rated it really liked it. Boring can be good. Please enter your email address and we will email you a new password. "Certain Women" shares Reichardt's previous sensibilities for methodical pacing which will either be a rewarding or frustrating experience for the viewer depending on your preference. And while I've yet to see any previous films from the filmmaker including her much heralded 2010 feature Meek's Cutoff I don't know that her latest necessarily urges me to go back and see what all the fuss is about. W hen you see Kelly Reichardt’s Certain Women the first thing you’ll want to do when you leave the cinema is purchase and eat a big ol’ hamburger. Perfectly tuned for its quietude imbued in loneliness and longing, Certain Women is certainly one of her finest films to date... Full Review Yasser Medina Cinemaficionados |, August 13, 2020 Verified reviews are considered more trustworthy by fellow moviegoers. That’s terribly wrong, I think. Sign up here. The characters are really minimalist masterpieces, sculpted, polished and uncompromisingly female. There are no approved quotes yet for this movie. By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy Movie review of “Certain Women”: This trio of stories has three introspective women at their center (Laura Dern, Michelle Williams, Lily Gladstone). Reichardt spends much of Certain Women’s running time focusing on characters jaded by years of quiet misogyny and frustration; Jamie and Beth’s story feels more hopeful. Copyright © Fandango. |. Certain Women is a timely reminder that another kind of womanhood is possible. This particular story centered on the world of theatre and the world of ancient prophets and kings. Your AMC Ticket Confirmation# can be found in your order confirmation email. and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and Fandango. Every frame has been so thoughtfully put together that time is needed for the viewer to take in what they are watching. | Rating: 7/10 All Critics (189) Thank … | Rating: 4/4 Certain Women is a kind, loving, and deeply moving portrait of bighearted small-town people. Don't have an account? | Rating: 3/4 It might be quiet, but its ideas are not. Review: Certain Women embraces Kelly Reichardt’s unspoken truths Kristen Stewart plays a young lawyer in Certain Women. By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie. It's not hard to appreciate that Reichardt has approached these tales of three individual women in three different stages of their lives that only overlap in the most subtle of ways in an even more subtler fashion, but it is only by virtue of the focus shifting from one story to the next that the film doesn't become a complete and utter bore. It is very uninteresting and dull to watch the banality of these women's lives, and while the film does have a good cast, I can't find any meaning in this poorly-put-together anthology of which only the last story seems to have something to say after all. By Chris Nashawaty. |, January 4, 2021 100. Reichardt, in addition to the slow and methodical storytelling, continues to use the landscape to tremendous effect, the cinematography is gorgeous and the location plays a great role in underscoring every scene. You're almost there! But this movie might be the most bland, wan film I've seen this year, and doubly so because it hardly focuses on that cornerstone of a concept. This isn't new for Reichardt but it feels more focused here. That said, Certain Women is certainly intriguing though the reasons for such interest fall more on the befuddling side of things rather than the promising. The storytelling without words in Certain Women is remarkable, to the extent that all the details I recounted above are presented and understood without any exposition or sometimes even dialogue to convey it. To write this film off as a simple story about 3 women in Montana would be doing it a huge disservice. Rating: 3-and-a-half stars out of 4. Rating: 2 out of 5 Get the freshest reviews, news, and more delivered right to your inbox! This film feels less like a film and more like a painting to me. Read full review. Reichardt doesn't have the same narrative conventions to fall back on, but like the women she follows with her camera, she forges her own path and in doing so, comes up with something bewitching. Women quietly struggle on a day to day basis, especially in rural settings, to attain legitimacy or acceptance, and the tiniest glimmer of hope or assurance can make it all worthwhile. “Certain Women” opens with a train moving slowly through the heartland of Montana, honking its horn occasionally along the way. Just confirm how you got your ticket. It is easy to sell the minimal approach as being more insightful and more telling simply out of the convenience of letting the audience do more of the heavy lifting, but some of the time keeping in line with the minimal approach is simply a substitute for there not being much to say in the first place. Certain Women just finished its run of film festivals at the New York Film Festival, and it will open in New York and L.A. on Friday, Oct. 14. Some say “Certain Women” is film about women for whom nothing happens. Certain Women Review. Sidney Poitier’s 7 Most Memorable Performances, All Harry Potter Movies Ranked Worst to Best by Tomatometer. | Top Critics (58) Kelly Reichardt’s Certain Women opens with a train moving slowly towards the camera. And it would were it left in the hands of certain characters and beside the fact this is the point of those certain characters' profiles-documenting the monotony and lack of anything spectacular or interesting occurring in their lives-the film isn't ever able to come up with anything new or profound enough to say about the mundanity of daily life or the foibles that eventually bring us all around to the same level playing field as human beings to be noteworthy in its own right. |, March 5, 2017 Certain women are very uninteresting, and much like those certain women, "Certain Women" is very uninteresting. A married couple ( Michelle Williams and James Le Gros) breaks ground on a new home but exposes marital fissures when they try to persuade an elderly man to sell … Review: ‘Certain Women’ Are Worlds Unto Themselves. Perfectly tuned for its quietude imbued in loneliness and longing, Certain Women is certainly one of her finest films to date... Certain Women never detaches from Reichardt's personal aesthetic to work as good drama. Certain Women is a finely acted meditation on everyday women who are tested by everyday struggles, big and small. 100. Best Netflix Shows and Series To Binge (January 2021), The 100 Best Movies on Netflix Right Now (January 2021), 100 Best Movies on Amazon Prime To Watch (January 2021). We want to hear what you have to say but need to verify your email. It is about moments of desire when everything is at stake, despite the lack of traditional narrative. Coming Soon. Movie Reviews Great Movies Collections TV/Streaming Features Chaz's Journal Interviews Festivals & Awards. Forgot your password? | Fresh (173) Sundance 2016: "Certain Women" Brian Tallerico January 25, 2016. Just leave us a message here and we will work on getting you verified. Certain Women drops us into a handful of intersecting lives across Montana. Certain Women further demonstrates writer-director Kelly Reichardt's gift for telling the stories of ordinary people with uncommon empathy and skill. Minimalist, if you will. |, March 6, 2017 Certain Women drops us into a handful of intersecting lives across Montana.