Movie review
December 23, 2022 · 104 min · PG-13
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
A drama set in 2010 about women in an isolated Mennonite religious colony who secretly gather to decide whether to do nothing, stay and fight, or leave after discovering repeated sexual assaults by the colony’s men. The story unfolds almost entirely through their philosophical debates on faith, forgiveness, justice, and their future. The film places strong, recurring emphasis on feminist themes of confronting patriarchy and systemic male violence, with explicit ideological dialogue and visible transgender representation.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Women Talking.
Woke representation / casting
Visible transgender character included in story about gendered violence; main female cast fits isolated Mennonite setting with no mismatches or swaps.
Woke political dialogue
Heavy explicit debates on patriarchy, toxic masculinity, male complicity in abuse, and feminist responses to faith and power.
Identity-driven story themes
Core narrative engine is women’s collective resistance to male sexual violence, female solidarity, and empowerment, boosted by queer representation.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Portrays religious patriarchal institutions and traditional gender roles as inherently oppressive systems enabling male entitlement and abuse in modern activist framing.
Production
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Moderate backlash for perceived anti-male messaging and feminist propaganda; evidence is present but not dominant or fringe-only.
Creator track record context
Polley publicly frames this title with activist language on patriarchy and #MeToo; no extensive prior activist pattern in her directing work.
