Women Talking
by Trista Schoonmaker
I’m always a bit behind the pop culture times, so I only watched Women Talking recently. I was blown away by the depth in such a simple storyline.
Women Talking (directed by Sarah Polley, based on the novel by Miriam Toews) tells the story of a group of women from an agrarian religious community (possibly Mennonite) who discover that men in their isolated colony have been drugging and assaulting them for years. When the truth can no longer be denied, the women gather in a hayloft to decide what to do next: stay and fight, leave the colony, or do nothing.
They face an impossible choice: Do nothing. Stay and fight. Leave. Each path carries risk, loss, and moral complexity.
The entire film unfolds through conversation — not vengeance, not action, but talking. The story is stripped of spectacle and focused instead on the process of conversation — listening, debating, grieving, raging, reasoning — as the women imagine a future beyond the fear.
Through anger, grief, and deep disagreement, they keep talking. They hold space for both outrage and faith, fury and forgiveness, until a shared decision begins to take shape. They don’t agree easily. They challenge, interrupt, and cry. But they refuse silence. They keep talking.
Why Is This Important?
At its heart, Women Talking is a story about moral courage—the kind that emerges when people speak the truth together. Each woman comes to the conversation carrying her own pain and uncertainty. By naming their experiences out loud, they transform isolation into connection. Their strength doesn’t come from agreement; it comes from choosing to speak and listen as equals.
In our own conflicts, silence often feels like safety. We avoid the conversation because it feels easier than confrontation. We convince ourselves that staying quiet will preserve peace, when in fact it preserves the problem. Real change begins when people are willing to name the truth out loud, especially when it’s uncomfortable.
Conflict resilience isn’t only about how we manage tension—it’s about the courage to tell the truth, to listen to others doing the same, and to co-create a path forward even when the outcome is unclear.
When we choose honest dialogue over quiet endurance, we make space for dignity, understanding, and repair.
How Can I Use This?
Stay in the room. When tension rises, resist the urge to withdraw or jump to solutions. Sit with the discomfort long enough to understand what’s really at stake.
Invite multiple truths. Make space for others’ experiences, even when they challenge your own. Listening doesn’t erase your perspective—it expands it.
Name the unspoken. Courageous conversations often start by putting words to what everyone feels but no one has said.
Seek repair, not perfection. Like the women in the film, focus less on getting it right and more on getting real.
In conflict, making space for many perspectives doesn’t blur the truth—it brings it into fuller view. In seeing more fully, we can better connect with one another again.