'Women Talking': How cinematography shows the story of abuse and recovery

Canadian cinematographer Luc Montpellier is seen on the set of director Sarah Polley's 'Women Talking.' (Photo courtesy Tram Kolluri/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios/Kingmaker Communications)

Canadian cinematographer Luc Montpellier says portraying abuse and recovery in the highly anticipated film "Women Talking" required a thoughtful approach, using lighting, colour and different screen formats to show the "seismic shift" such abuses can create in communities.

As director of photography for the film, Montpellier told CTVNews.ca it was important the cinematography represented the "epic weight" of the decision faced by the women, but also highlighted the hope of its conclusion.

"We wanted to create almost like a gothic image that kind of supported the idea of these women's unwavering faith… and how they're trying to kind of wrestle with the fact that their world is slowly being dismantled in front of their eyes based on an atrocious event that's happened," Montpellier said in a telephone interview on Friday.

"But also, they're trying to kind of create a new world."

"Women Talking" stars Frances McDormand, Claire Foy and Rooney Mara, and premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival on Tuesday ahead of its world premiere on Dec. 2.

Directed by Canadian Sarah Polley – her first feature in almost a decade – the film is an adaptation of Miriam Toews’ acclaimed novel by the same name about a group of women who, reeling from multiple counts of sexual abuse newly uncovered within their Mennonite colony, gather in a hayloft to discuss how to respond: do nothing, stay and fight, or leave.

Montpellier said he worked closely with Polley, and in consultation with Toews, to ensure the cinematography encompassed the director's vision but still stayed true to the book.

"The fact that these women are basically trying to figure out what they're going to do and take control of their lives to me was an extremely important thing to be able to bring out through the photography," he said.

To do this, Montpellier said they shot in a traditional widescreen format that is historical in film to represent the colony itself. He said the format also makes audiences feel like they have been "absorbed" into the women's world.

"Not everyone understands how Mennonite colonies work. A lot of these women are not allowed to be educated and… the way we shot the colony is a little bit of a glimpse into an extreme way of living that's very traditional," he said.

In addition, Montpellier said he chose to essentially de-saturate almost all of the colour in the film to "support this idea of the lives the women are living."

"The more muted palette provides this gothic imagery that kind of makes you feel like their lives have been quite limiting but also in a very non-judgmental way," he said.

However, Montpellier said he wanted shots taken outside of the hayloft to represent hope and show "the beauty of what the women are possibly leaving behind."

With these scenes, he added more colour through the use of different lighting. He said the lighting choices also represent the limited time the women have to make their decision.

"I had to literally map out and create how the light was going to shift. There's a scene in the middle where the sun finally is down over the horizon, and that almost is in lockstep with the decisions that are being made and adds hopefully a lot of tension visually to what these women need to do fairly quickly because the men might return any moment," he explained.

ADAPTING A NOVEL FOR SCREEN

While the film features emotionally complex performances from the cast, Montpellier says the camera acts as a character on its own.

"The whole film … essentially is almost like a fable… There's this quote that shows up at the beginning of the film that says, 'This is an act of female imagination,' because the film takes on that shape," he said. "I felt a lot of responsibility to try to make choices like this, as opposed to be passive with the photography."

Montpellier said the novel the film is based on actually inspired his cinematography choices. While someone reading a novel can picture the characters and setting with their imagination, he explained that film requires the showing of those elements but in a way that evokes the same feelings text would.

"Our job is different in the cinema… we don't always have dialogue," Montpellier said. "[A film] is through images, it's not just what you're imagining in your head."

He noted that it was important to the crew that the core ideas of the novel remained intact, and the cinematography elements were used to highlight those themes.

"We needed to reimagine it as a film so that when you're sitting there for 90 minutes, we’re using everything at our disposal visually to make you feel very much like the book made a lot of people feel," Montpellier said.

He added that Toews approved of their take.

"There was one day where Miriam came to visit us on the set, and we were showing her some of the footage we had shot and she just burst into tears because it was way beyond what she had imagined," Montpellier said.

GENDER DIFFERENCES

As a man, Montpellier acknowledged that he felt out of place at first and needed "to find an entry point" into the film.

"It's a film called 'Women Talking.' Obviously, I'm a man. I've been conditioned in our world in a very different way than women; we've had different lives. So it was really important for me to understand how to approach this material," he explained.

Montpellier said he even suggested working alongside a female cinematographer. However, Polley told him he is just as much a part of the broader conversation.

"One thing she said to me was, 'Listen, this film is not just about women; it's about everyone' … And it shows in the film – [Polley] really challenges all of our roles, how men interact with women, how women interact with men… so that's what I'm hoping will be taken from this film," Montpellier said.

While the film is a critique of patriarchal oppression, Montpellier noted its messaging extends beyond secular culture.

"'Women Talking' is essentially the beginning of what I hope will be a continued conversation about gender roles and the kind of responsibility that we all have -- not just women, but men -- to change the narrative," Montpellier said.

"The film really does feel like it's trying to change things and so for me, if we can continue [discussions] after the credits roll, I think we've done our work here."