THE WORLD TO COME
Katherine Waterston and Vanessa Kirby milk cows, no acting required.
FILM OUT 2 APRIL CINEMAS
Aslow-burning but ultimately rewarding drama of the heart, The World To Come is set in mid-19th-century upstate New York: a world of bleak midwinters and daily drudgery, especially for Abigail (Katherine Waterston), wife to Dyer (Casey Affleck), as she struggles to keep their farm running. The loss of their daughter has opened an emotional chasm between them – one that may never be filled.
Employing much voiceover narration, the story offers green shoots of hope when Tallie (Vanessa Kirby) and her brutish husband Finney (Christopher Abbott) arrive. The reserved Abigail is immediately drawn to Tallie and the two become inseparable, as friendship and more blossoms from beneath the permafrost of their daily lives.
Adapted by Jim Shepard from his 2017 short story, working here with novelist Ron Hansen, The World To Come is handled with sensitivity by director Mona Fastvold (known for co-scripting Brady Corbet’s The Childhood Of A Leader
and Vox Lux). Shooting on 16mm, with wintry Romania doubling for the US, she flourishes as a filmmaker, showing nuance in her handling of the material.
The authentic depiction of the toil of 1850s farm life is well balanced by the warmth of two women finding solace in each other. Waterston and Kirby offer elegant portrayals, as their male costars strive to find dimensions beyond cardboard villainy in their characters. The obvious comparison is Brokeback Mountain, but World forges its own path in a tale where tragedy and heartbreak linger in the air. James Mottram