The film CERTAIN WOMEN Will Appeal to Discerning Audiences

The film "Certain Women" is based on the brilliant short story collection of Maile Meloy's "Both Ways is the Only Way I Want It."  Director Kelly Reichardt adapts a triptych of stories that barely graze each other yet all share quiet shades of solitude.  The stories are set in small Montana towns during the bone chilling winter.  The vast open terrain serves as a blank canvas for its characters seeking solace by connecting with another warm body.  The scenes in a coffee shop are emblematic of a Hopper painting.  The separate stories have 3 strong lead actresses:  Laura Dern, Michelle Williams & Kristin Stewart.  All 3 working women are strong characters struggling with dissonance in their own lives. The pathos in each story is their interactions with another person who is in a very disconnected & pitable situation.  Stewart plays an atty who befriends a woman who walked into a class she was teaching just to be around other people.  Dern also plays an atty whose client has a violent meltdown & takes someone hostage.  Williams wants stones belonging to an elderly gentlemen at all costs but not without feelings for his solitude. The understated but strong performances emote empathy, compassion, & kindness.  CERTAIN WOMEN is a slow paced drama that delves into the human condition. "You just don't know how good it is to hold a letter in your hand," Dern's client tells her during a prison.  I certainly recommend this film with its harsh wintry countryside and warm hearths burning nearby.