Vanessa Kirby and Shia LaBeouf have to face the harsh reality of losing their child shortly after its birth in the wrenching first trailer for the Netflix drama “Pieces of a Woman.”
Kirby in particular spars with her mother played by Ellen Burstyn, who fears that by not going to trial to sue their midwife (Molly Parker) after tragedy strikes, she’s not facing this grief head on.
“I am facing this. I am facing it! I AM FACING THIS,” Kirby bellows in the trailer. “Who cares about what they think. This is about me. This is about my life. This is me.”
Much of the trailer for the film showcases the devastating aftermath of Kirby giving birth, but what’s nearly overlooked in the trailer is the punishing first 30 minutes of the film shot in a single, unbroken take without music that shows Kirby’s pain spread across hours of her going into labor and then ending shortly after she’s given birth.
TheWrap’s Steve Pond out of the Venice Film Festival, where Kirby won the Best Actress prize and became an immediate Oscar contender, called those early moments “grueling, bravura filmmaking” in his review. And he also singled out Burstyn’s performance, particularly for a similarly lengthy monologue in which Burstyn finally compels Kirby to take her midwife to court over the birth.
Kirby and Burstyn also spoke with TheWrap out of the Toronto International Film Festival about the emotional strength it took to make those scenes feel authentic, and you can watch that interview here.
“White God” filmmaker Kornél Mundruczó directed “Pieces of a Woman” from writer Kata Wéber, and the film was executive produced by Martin Scorsese.
Netflix will release “Pieces of a Woman” in select theaters as part of an awards qualifying run beginning on December 30, but the film will then debut on the streamer on January 7, 2021.
Check out the first trailer for “Pieces of a Woman” above and here.
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