Certain Women (2016)

Certain Women: Directed by Kelly Reichardt. With Laura Dern, James Le Gros, Jared Harris, Ashlie Atkinson. The lives of three women intersect in small-town America, where each is imperfectly blazing a trail.

“In rural / small-town Montana, three stories interact: a lawyer (Laura Dern) seems unable to set boundaries with an ex-client (Jared Harris) who is unhinged and deranged; a rather uptight woman (Michelle Williams) tries to find motivation in building a new home even though her husband and teenage daughter are growing more and more distant from her; a young rancher (Lily Gladstone) is infatuated with a recent law graduate (Kristen Stewart) who arrives in her town twice a week to teach an educational law night class.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;Certain Womenu0026quot; is written and directed by Kelly Reichardt and based on short stories by Maile Meloy. Like other Reichardt films (her best is u0026quot;Meeku0026#39;s Cutoffu0026quot; (2010)), this one tells so much in the unspoken word – where a silent reply says so much more than a bluntly worded statement. She is blessed with a superb cast who can make the viewer feel so much with a camera lingering on their faces.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eItu0026#39;s tempting to think u0026quot;nothing is happeningu0026quot; at the beginning of each segment. But once viewers catch on to Reinhardtu0026#39;s unique style, they can see that a lot is actually happening. The Gladstone/Stewart story stands out for various reasons and not just the great acting (Gladstone rightly won many awards for her performance). It provides a great re-telling of the tragic story of someone having a crush on another who aspires to be (or already is) in a higher class in the socioeconomic hierarchy.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eTheir story, like the others, have a theme of loneliness and isolation even for those who are surrounded by people. This film has a special and unique charm that is quite rewarding.”