Movies set in a period such as the 1800s and other periods are a pleasant surprise. Films like Westerns or Civil War films make up a majority of these but are still few and far between. It’s nice to see films set in many different times in history. That being said, there have been three period piece films that have a similar plot in the last two years: Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Ammonite, and now The World to Come.
Abigail (Katherine Waterston, Alien: Covenant) is married to Dyer (Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea) during the 1850s, living as farmers in the Northeastern United States. When a new couple, Tally (Venessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman) and Finney (Christopher Abbott, Possessor), moves in down the road, the two couples become friends. While the men are off working, Tally comes to visit Abigail and the two women develop a friendship with one another. This causes some tension between the men and their wives.
Waterston’s character narrates the film, and there are animations with dates and so forth that show the passing of time. This helps the film move forward in time. With each season, different aspects of weather are shown from blizzards in winter to sunny days in the summer. With no modern-day things to help pass the time, Waterston’s character writes in a journal so she can document all the happenings in these people’s lives.
The two couples live in nice log cabins and on farms. The clothes and all the intricacies of the world this film takes place in are fascinating to me. It’s just amazing how people lived like this back in the day.
This movie was based on the story by Jim Shepard, exploring a very interesting time in history. Director Mora Fastvold brings his vision to life very effectively. All the things the characters say and do are so interesting and fascinating. That being said, it was hard to watch this film because I felt I had already seen it twice before so recently. That took away my enjoyment of the film.
Fastvold and company do an effective job bringing the world together in the sense of the production value. She got everything correct. The two leading ladies were very good and believable in their roles. The story was very good by Jim Shephard and Ron Henson. This world was brought to life very nicely. It was just a bit annoying because of how many times we have seen this story in recent years.
3 1/2 stars
Dan Skip Allen
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Sean Boelman
Founder/EIC disappointment media
From the Fourth Row! 