The World to Come - SPOILER-FREE Review | Sundance 2021
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Directed by: Mona Fastvold
Written by: Ron Hansen, Jim Shepard
Starring: Katherine Waterston, Vanessa Kirby, Casey Affleck, Christopher Abbott
Runtime: 98 min
Synopsis: In this powerful 19th century romance set in the American Northeast, Abigail (Katherine Waterston), a farmer's wife, and her new neighbor Tallie (Vanessa Kirby) find themselves irrevocably drawn to each other. A grieving Abigail tends to her withdrawn husband Dyer (Casey Affleck) as free-spirit Tallie bristles at the jealous control of her husband Finney (Christopher Abbott), when together their intimacy begins to fill a void in each other's lives they never knew existed.
I’m admittedly not the biggest lover of period pieces or romances set in past centuries. As weird and maybe even unfair as it might sound, in a general way, the dialogues always feel just way too poetic and overly sophisticated for my taste. When it comes to emotional investment in a character or in a relationship, I need realistic elements to grab on to: authentic development, lifelike conversations, and genuine performances. As much as this might upset some people, a film is different from a play or a book. For example, narration often works better in the latter’s case than in a cinematic adaptation.
This prologue serves as a disclaimer for every reader to understand that my opinion about movies within this genre isn’t usually highly favorable. So, unless I strongly believe the film is a total disaster, I’ll never not recommend it. With this said, I know I’ll probably be in the minority regarding The World to Come, but it’s yet another romantic drama that I struggle to really enjoy. It has plenty of remarkable technical aspects and some good performances, but concerning its story and characters, I find it to be quite underwhelming and less surprising than I expected.
First of all, I also confess I have a problem with extensive voice-over throughout the entire runtime of any movie of any genre. Unless the narration holds some sort of unique quality, I find it difficult to be genuinely compelling or entertaining. Ron Hansen and Jim Shepard’s screenplay has as much narration - a character’s thoughts - as it has actual dialogues, which ultimately becomes a divisive aspect I was never comfortable with. On one hand, it undeniably adds substance to Abigail’s emotions by thoroughly describing what she feels about everything and everyone, mainly Tallie, so it’s obviously a crucial part of the narrative.
On the other hand, it carries the exact same tone from beginning to end, without ever having bursts of energy, a humorous observation, or something different from the monotonous, dull sensation of hearing someone merely reading a script. Mona Fastvold employs a purposefully slow pace, which I actually find pretty adequate, but the admittedly well-developed relationship between the two women doesn’t completely compensate for the otherwise unexciting story. Sadly, I don’t believe I cared as much as I was supposed to about Abigail and Tallie. Regarding the husbands, I understand the necessity of making them look apathetic or extremely jealous so that the romantic relationship at the center of the film flourishes, but that partially hurts my interest in the movie.
Even though it’s not exactly the most captivating film I’ve seen lately, it still boasts two good lead performances from Katherine Waterston and Vanessa Kirby. Both share convincing chemistry that turns the intimate scenes more sincere. Technically, I must praise Daniel Blumberg’s beautiful score, which might just be the element that truly kept my eyes on the screen. Jean Vincent Puzos’s striking production design is hard to go unnoticed due to the wonderful scenery. Luminita Lungu’s costume design feels appropriate, but it’s really Blumberg’s music that steals the spotlight. It’s the only component of the movie I’m interested in returning to.
Final Thoughts
The World to Come is yet another romantic drama set hundreds of years ago that unfortunately didn’t fully convince me. Mona Fastvold’s direction is quite strong, and she shows an excellent control of the purposefully slow pacing. However, Ron Hansen and Jim Shepard’s screenplay relies too much on detailed narration that, despite adding some layers to its characters, ultimately becomes repetitive, overwhelming, and tiresome. Katherine Waterston and Vanessa Kirby try to keep the narrative afloat with two remarkable performances, but they can’t compensate for the unsurprising, underwhelming storytelling. Gorgeous production/set/costume design elevate the film, but it’s the vital musical score without which I would struggle to stay captivated that saves the overall viewing. Story-wise, the best compliment I can offer is that it enlightens its viewers about how women were mistreated at the time and how homosexual relationships have as much or more chemistry as a heterosexual one. Since I’m not the target audience, I still recommend it to fans of the genre.
