Dern, Williams charm in ‘Women’ – DuVernay makes sure girls see themselves in film

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‘Certain Women’ is a quiet, introspective film about three women living and existing in a frozen Montana town. Does it sound dull? Sure. But on the screen it plays out like a slow-burning folk song you could sit with for hours. It’s perhaps writer-director Kelly Reichardt’s finest work, understated and elegant and well worth a trip to the cinema to slip into the exquisitely literary vignettes of Beth (Kristen Stewart), Gina (Michelle Williams) and Laura (Laura Dern).

Adapted from Maile Meloy’s short stories, Reichardt crafts her own short story-like structure to “Certain Women.” There are some tangentially connecting threads, but for the most part they exist in different orbits even in and around the small, sleepy and picturesquely desolate Livingston, Montana.

We meet Laura (Dern) first. She’s dressing after a mid-day fling with Ryan (James Le Gros) that doesn’t seem to have been fulfilling enough for the effort. Back at her office (she’s a lawyer) she’s dismayed to find out that a needy client (Jared Harris) has been waiting for her. She explains to him for what seems like the millionth time that he has no recourse for his on-the-job injury because he’s already taken a settlement. But he wants a second opinion and they drive to Billings to meet with an older male lawyer who tells him the exact same thing. It’s only then that he accepts it.

“It would be so lovely to think if I were a man, people would listen and say ‘OK.’ Ah, it’d be so restful,” Laura sighs at one point.

Surviving

That sentiment, a bone-deep exhaustion of merely existing and surviving and still maintaining your wants and desires and agency, flows into the next segment about Gina (Williams) and her family, made up of a bratty teenage daughter and an ineffectual husband, Ryan. It’s the same guy we’ve already seen engaging in the extramarital dalliance with Laura. Both undermine her at every turn in familiar ways. Gina, small and platinum blonde, maintains a steely demeanor throughout it all. These are just the facts of her surroundings, and you sense that they’ve been rotten for a while.

Reichardt and Williams, who excel in collaboration for films like “Wendy and Lucy” and “Meek’s Cutoff,” have the ability to make even a conversation about buying sandstone from an elderly man transfixing and deep. It’s a microcosm for Gina’s entire worth. As with all of Reichardt’s films, the gems are in the smallest moments ó the half smiles, the non-reactions and the silences between two people barely connecting.

Explored

That’s more heartbreakingly explored in the third and most obtuse story, which brings us to Jamie (Lily Gladstone) and Beth (Stewart). Jamie, sturdy and sweet, works on a ranch tending to horses in cold isolation. One night she stumbles on a class at the local high school on education law. Jamie becomes fascinated with the jittery instructor Beth (Stewart), a beguiling outsider who travels four hours each way two times a week to teach.

They end up having dinner together at the local diner where Jamie just sits and smiles and listens while Beth eats and monologues about her troubles. It becomes their routine week after week. Jamie barely ever speaks and Beth barely seems to notice her, but this non-relationship has become lifeblood for Jamie.

As an audience member, it can be painful to watch and know that Beth just doesn’t care, but Jamie’s smile doesn’t fade somehow. Maybe it’s nice to just have another human around. But maybe she just knows something that we don’t. In fact, with all of these modern frontierswomen, I’m sure of it.

Certain Women,” an IFC Films release, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for “some language.” Running time: 107 minutes. Four stars out of four.

 Also:

LOS ANGELES: Marley Dias loves books, but last year, the 11-year-old became frustrated with what she was reading for school. “I didn’t see any black girls in the books we were being assigned,” Dias says.

So began the ultimate book drive. Using the hashtag #1000blackgirlbooks, Dias began soliciting donations of books about black women and girls. Her movement came at a time when fewer than 10 percent of children’s books have black protagonists, studies show.

Dias’ campaign led to an appearance on “Ellen” and a set visit with Ava DuVernay, the director of “Selma” and “13th.” DuVernay felt an instant connection with Dias, who grilled the director about diversity in the workplace.

“I just was fascinated by her and nourished by her,” says DuVernay. “She’s a dynamic young woman who has a dynamic idea, but a lot of us have dynamic ideas, and we don’t follow up dynamically. We don’t execute.”

The director and the tween activist bonded in other ways, too. Growing up as a film fan in Compton, Calif, DuVernay also had been disappointed by the lack of tales about people of color. There were a few notable exceptions — chief among them “West Side Story.”

“I was mesmerized by the scope and the scale and the beauty of the brown people in the film,” says DuVernay. “To see Rita Moreno doing her thing and looking like friends who lived in my community — I remember that being a real formative image.”

LOS ANGELES: Planned Parenthood has come under attack during the presidential election, as pro-life Republicans attempt to cut funding for the organization that provides abortions and an array of other medical services for women.

“It’s pretty terrifying,” says Scarlett Johansson. “Somehow, a woman’s right to choose has become a subject that’s on the Republican platform. I don’t really know what it has to do with politics at all. It seems to be a deeply personal issue.”

Growing up in New York, the actress relied on Planned Parenthood for regular checkups, she says.

“I used them to screen me for STDs or take care of my reproductive health, as did all my girlfriends. When I was asked to represent their initiative, it was a no-brainer.”

Planned Parenthood turns 100 this year, with 650 health centers across the US that see 2.5 million patients a year for cancer screenings, birth control, STD testing, and breast exams. (Agencies)

Johansson is a major advocate of such services. In 2012, she made Planned Parenthood and women’s health central themes of her speech at the Democratic National Convention. Two years later, she helped design T-shirts to boost voting in the midterm elections, and she has recorded an audio message that encourages listeners to enroll in less-expensive insurance options available through the Affordable Care Act.

Her high-profile efforts on behalf of the nonprofit don’t stop there, according to Caren Spruch, Planned Parenthood’s director of arts and entertainment engagement.

“She even filmed a video about the impact that Congressional assaults would have on millions of women who rely on Planned Parenthood when she was on location shooting a film,” Spruch says.

Johansson is enhancing her efforts by publicly backing Hillary Clinton, who has vowed to support Planned Parenthood if elected president.

“Hillary is the right candidate for right now,” Johansson says. “I think she’s got a lot of integrity. She’s got a lot of stamina. She’s a very clever politician, and that’s actually important to me. Maybe it’s because I have a daughter now.” (Agencies)

By Lindsey Bahr

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