Netflix’s Pieces Of A Woman is a heartbreaking story with a powerful opening, which will have you holding your breath. The film quickly loses steam, however, despite Vanessa Kirby’s amazing performance. Check out the details in my parents guide movie review.
Pieces Of A Woman is a powerful film about the loss of a child after a intense homebirth and the aftermath of the loss. It dropped on Netflix this week, and stars Vanessa Kirby and Shia LaBeouf. It is a powerful film dealing with a very heartbreaking subject matter. Check out all the details in my parents guide movie review.
Pieces Of A Woman Movie Quotes
Pieces Of A Woman Parents Guide
Pieces Of A Woman is a story about Martha (Vanessa Kirby), who decides to have a home birth with partner Sean (Shia LaBeouf). The birth takes a tragic turn when the baby does not survive. The couple must then deal with their loss, grief and their relationship with eachother.
Pieces Of A Woman Age Appropriate
Lets take a look at what parents need to know before allowing their kids to view Pieces Of A Woman.
Language: The movie contains some strong language. Words include the F-Word, S-Word and B-word.
Sexual Content/Nudity: The film does contain a few sexual scenes parents need to be made aware of. There is one scene in which a male character forcefully puts his partners hand down his pants saying “touch it.” This encounter leads to a sexual scene, where viewers see a bare butt and even a full frontal shot of the male genitals. There is another scene in which two characters are getting dressed after it was implied they had sexual intercourse. In this scene viewers can also see part of the male genitals.
With this being a film about childbirth, there are a few scenes which may be inappropriate for kids when Martha is in labor, as well as a scene viewers can see the baby crown.
Alcohol/Drugs: There is a scene in which a character is snorting cocaine. Sean is also a recovering alcoholic, so the issue of alcohol dependence is discussed in the film.
Overall Thoughts
Pieces Of A Woman brings to light pregnant mother’s worst fear, losing their unborn child. The story begins with a pregnant Martha and her excited partner Sean, preparing for the arrival of their baby girl. Martha opts for a homebirth, and when her water breaks, the highly emotional delivery begins. The birth scene is one of the most powerful scenes I’ve seen in awhile, as I held my breath through every contraction. And even though I knew what was coming, everything in me held out hope for a different result, which is testiment to its story-telling.
Vanessa Kirby and Shia LaBeouf were brilliant in their roles. Kirby channeled her dispair with excellence, as viewers hearts broke alongside hers. She brought an authenticity to the child birth scene like I have never seen in films before. From the non-stop burping to the total panic in her eyes, Kirby has definitely set a higher bar when it comes to gicing birth in movies. And LaBeouf channels the blue-collar worker in him with ease but the raw agony he brings when dealing with the loss of his child is astounding.
Where Pieces Of A Woman failed a bit for me was keeping up with its powerful first half of the film. As the characters have to deal with their own grief, the story becomes muddled with relationship problems between Martha and Sean but also Martha and her mother (Ellen Burstyn). And then for a brief moment towards the end, the film takes a courtroom drama turn. The first half and second half of the film seem disconnected. I wish director Kornél Mundruczó would have focused more on the two main characters and their story, in lieu of the other muddled mess.
Overall, Pieces Of A Woman is a powerful story, which can be slow paced and drag at times, but the performance and connection with the characters saves this one in the end.
