Review of Pieces of a Woman
midlandsmovies • January 13, 2021
Pieces of a Woman (2021) Dir. Kornél Mundruczó
It’s rare to find a film of such contrasting halves. Following the fallout between a Boston couple Martha and Sean (two excellent performances by Vanessa Kirby and Shia LaBeouf) after the death of their new-born daughter, Pieces of a Woman starts strong but quickly falls away into melodramatic nonsense.
The opening half hour follows Martha as she goes into labour. It’s a highly affective scene, with sweeping camera movements and strong, naturalistic acting from the two leads. Director Kornél Mundruczó and writer Kata Wéber refuse to flinch away from the uncomfortable realities of childbirth, or the fear that comes with it.
Taken out of context from the rest of the film, it’s one of the strongest pieces of work Netflix has ever produced. Containing all the raw emotion and tenderness that a five-star drama should include.
How strange that it should fall apart so completely then. Quickly the film starts to rely on heavy-handed allegories. Sean works on a bridge-building crew, literally bringing people closer together as his own relationship shows the strain of such a traumatic event. Even a wholly unnecessary conversation about The White Stripes is beaten into shape to try and represent the couple in some way.
Where the dialogue had previously felt off-the-cuff and natural, it’s now forced around cliches, with exposition galore to push the characters in certain directions. Grief does strange things to people and it’s not that the actions are necessarily out of character, but in a two-hour film the progression still feels rushed.
Even worse, the misconduct court case (which a large part of the film revolves around) is farcically presented. It’s hard to believe that legal proceedings would be handled in such a way, a final nail in the coffin for a film that started so strong.
There’s also the elephant in the room. The allegations against Shia LaBeouf (made last December by his ex-partner FKA Twigs). It’s hard not to find one particular scene in Pieces of a Woman deeply uncomfortable because of this.
Mundruczó and Wéber are a deeply talented partnership, given access to the almost unlimited Netflix coffers and provided with a cast brimming with talent. Ellen Burstyn is wonderful as Martha’s disapproving mother. Yet this is European cinema via Hollywood, with all the trappings that come with that.
The subtleties have been amplified and made melodramatic. Even the score is designed to tell you exactly how to feel at which point. This feels like a great idea dumbed down; a move that is more offensive because of its sensitive subject matter.
★★
Matthew Tilt
Twitter @Matthew_Tilt
On Sunday 26th April Midlands Movies Editor Michael Sales & awards ceremony co-host Ed Stagg (BBC Radio) announced the nominations for the 2026 Midlands Movies Awards live from the Queen of Bradgate Vintage Cinema in Leicester. A big thanks was given to the entire Jury Panel of industry experts who gave up their precious time to watch a huge selection of creative projects and as always, had a difficult time choosing from the excellent number of films from the region. You can read the full list of nominations across all 16 categories below and watch our announcement videos here: Part 1 & Part 2 And please also check out our great awards partner Chrome Video Best Actress in a Leading Role Karendip Phull for Family Kate Bracken for The Lace Rachel Baker for Throwing Fruit Chloe Wade for How Long Sophie Bullock for Ma Prison Best Animated Film Of All the Things by Steff Lee Big Red by James Pyle Statue in the Garden by Qianhui Yu Butterfly by Jacob Christie Best Director Luke Worrall for The Waterline Lily Portman for Quiet Jack Richardson for Daniel’s Room Jonathan Hawes for Sorry We’re Closed Sophia Dall'Aglio for Man from Mars Best Documentary Nothing's Impossible by Jacob Thomas McClean A Birmingham Symphony by Jemma Saunders We Bring Light: Leicester's Diwali Legacy by Kieran Vyas The Sunshine Café by Jill Lampert Through the Viewfinder by William North Best Sound (Editing or Mixing) Neil Evans & his team for Artificial Insanity Alasdair Gretton for Dead on Distribution Deepanjali Patel for Earworm David Hamilton-Smith for The Pause Heidi Wilson for Of All The Things Best Actor in a Supporting Role Devon Junior for Lazar Tim Sparrow for Safety Net Shaiek Ahmed Rana for Family Luke Rollason for Quiet Peter Willoughby for A Story of Spring Best Visual & Special Effects Jake Wesley-Worrall for Soul Trader Steve Askey & team for The Correction Unit Nick Willett, Matt Burkey & Jayne Hyman for Black Goat JaqD SFX MUA, Mind Magic Studios and Ben Harker for Beyond the Witching Hour Pete Key, Jai Blanks and Jacob Christie for Countenance Best Cinematography Gary Rogers for The Pause Laurence Mason-Guetta for Sorry We’re Closed Ian Snape for Soul Trader Ash Connaughton for Daniel’s Room Duane Adamoli for Surfing (nominations continue below...)
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