The World to Come

Yesterday afternoon I checked another new release off my list by seeing The World to Come.  I have been looking forward to this movie ever since I saw a trailer a few weeks ago because it is exactly the type of period piece that I love.  Abigail (Katherine Waterston) and her taciturn husband Dyer (Casey Affleck, in a quietly moving performance) are mourning the recent death of their young daughter on the frontier in the mid-19th century.  She begins the new year by recording the details of her lonely and mundane life of hard work in a ledger and continues each day.  Everything changes when Tallie (Vanessa Kirby) and her husband Finney (Christopher Abbott) begin renting a nearby farm.  Tallie visits Abigail every afternoon and they find fulfillment in their friendship which slowly becomes an all-encompassing passion.  Eventually their husbands start to suspect that their relationship might be something more.  Dyer is sad because Abigail only seems to smile when Tallie is around but Finney is angry that Tallie is not performing her wifely duties.  When Finney forces Tallie to move to another farm miles away, Abigail does not know if she can return to her empty and isolated life.  This story of forbidden love is moody, atmospheric, and restrained.  Waterston and Kirby are absolutely smoldering on screen and convey so much longing with with just a glance or the briefest touch of their hands so, when they finally do give in to their feelings, it is incredibly powerful.  I loved the juxtaposition between the dark and muted landscape whenever Abigail is with Dyer with the warm glow of lanterns inside the cabin and the sun-dappled picnics outdoors when she is with Tallie.  Just like Abigail, I eagerly anticipated the moment when Tallie would appear and light up the screen.  The dialogue is so poetic and I often felt like I was watching an adaptation of a classic 19th century novel that I read in high school.  I especially loved the reference to King Lear when they talk about being caged birds who can still sing.  The score, heavy on woodwinds, is extremely evocative and adds so much to the mood while the cinematography is almost hypnotic.  The resolution is heartbreaking but I absolutely loved this movie and I recommend it to fans of period dramas.