The World to Come

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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...

The World to Come, the film adaptation of Jim Shepards 2017 short story of the same name, is just as sophisticated and lovely as the authors elegant prose. Shepard also co-authored the screenplay (with Ron Hansen), and his eloquent writing makes for a lovely film about two women longing for intimacy in the 1800s.

In upstate New York, Abigail (Katherine Waterston) is devastated by grief when her only child dies at the age of four. She does what she can to take care of the home and her farmer husband, Dyer (Casey Affleck). Between the cooking, cleaning, and milking cows, Abigail quietly pens diaries of her feelings, narrating the story from her point of view by reading from her ledgers.

A little excitement comes into the womans life whe...