Canadian filmmaker Sarah Polley hasn’t made a film since the acclaimed 2012 documentary “Stories We Tell.” Before then, she had made two powerful original dramas, “Away From Her,” and “Take This Waltz.”
It turns out that a chapter in her new autobiographical book, explains her ubiquitous absence.
Polley explains that she was injured six years ago when a large fire extinguisher, which was hung on the wall, fell on her head as she bent over a lost-and-found box at a Toronto community centre. The result was a never-ending concussion. This led to her dropping out of directing “Little Women,” Greta Gerwig took over and, eventually, rewrote Polley’s screenplay.
Polley finally returns to directing this year with “Women Talking.” The film has incredible cast that includes Frances McDormand, Claire Foy, Rooney Mara, Jessie Buckley, and Ben Whishaw. The plot centers on an isolated Mennonite religious colony in Bolivia as the women struggle with their faith in God after a string of sexual assaults committed by the colony’s men.