The World to Come

The setting, New York in 1856; The story is one of a forbidden romance between two women from different houses separated by the land and navigating around their husbands. Very early on, from hearing talk of this film, I wanted to see it for whatever reason. I missed the tiny theatrical run it had here, and just now seeing it was fully worth the weight. The story of a forbidden romance has been around since Shakespeare wrote about two star-crossed lovers; having the two lovers as females is not new either. We have already had Portrait of a Lady on Fire and Ammonite to name a couple of the more known ones. There is a simplisticness to it elevated with a poeticness that contrasts with the score, adding a subtle eerieness to balance things. It is not as sharp and crisp visually as, say, Portrait of a Lady on Fire though it delivers the feeling and emotional heft I wanted from Ammonite. Performances all around deliver from the cast, Casey Affleck you get your standard Casey Affleck, Christopher Abbott replaced Jesse Plemons, who dropped out of the movie, which I think worked to the advantage of the movie, Catherine Waterson we get to see her range and Vanessa Kirby after this and Pieces of a Woman is a name to keep on the radar. You enjoyed the others films I mentioned; you should check this one out. It a slow burn that, for me, was worth it in the end.