--- title: "Pieces of a Woman: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/pieces-of-a-woman/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/pieces-of-a-woman" critics_score: 64 critics_reviews: 26 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Pieces of a Woman (2020): what the critics said Critics' score 64 from 26 reviews: 12 positive, 11 mixed, 3 negative. The consensus is cautiously favourable, with positive and mixed reviews nearly level. Vanessa Kirby draws the most consistent praise for a performance that makes grief felt through restraint as well as raw distress, including from critics unconvinced by the film around her. The opening childbirth sequence is another recurring strength: many reviews find its uninterrupted take harrowing and technically assured. More sympathetic critics see an emotionally complex drama whose performances carry it through the heavier passages. Reservations cluster around heavy-handed symbolism, contrived melodrama and a failure to sustain the opening’s force. Several reviews find the later scenes too conventional or the resolution too neat for the grief portrayed earlier. The spread is wide, reaching from deeply moved approval to doubts about whether the film earns its emotion. The New Yorker offers the sharpest dissent, finding the drama hollow and overblown and the much-praised opening take ultimately pointless. ## Evening Standard — Charlotte O'Sullivan Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 8 January 2021. O’Sullivan gives the film a strongly positive review, despite some melodramatic moments and metaphors that feel overdone. She especially praises Vanessa Kirby’s raw, compelling performance as a grieving mother. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/pieces-of-a-woman-netflix-review-b742944.html) ## Radio Times — Hanna Flint Rating 4/5. Flint describes the drama as heartbreaking and powerfully performed. She singles out Vanessa Kirby’s robust, unflinching performance as its strength. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-im10kf/pieces-of-a-woman-release-date-netflix/) ## Little White Lies — Hannah Strong Fi1m's normalised score 78/100 (inferred from the text). Festival review. Strong finds the film delicate and devastating, while noting a few heavy-handed moments. She especially praises Vanessa Kirby’s emotionally restrained performance and the film’s empathetic portrayal of grief after infant loss. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/festivals/pieces-of-a-woman-first-look-review) ## The i Paper — James Mottram Fi1m's normalised score 78/100 (inferred from the text). 8 September 2020. Festival review. The critic finds the film harrowing and devastating, despite an excessively twee postscript. Vanessa Kirby’s powerhouse performance is singled out as career-best, with Shia LaBeouf and Ellen Burstyn also praised. [Read the review](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/pieces-of-a-woman-review-venice-film-festival-vanessa-kirby-career-best-performance-the-crown-shia-labeouf-640285) ## Empire — Terri White Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 4 January 2021. White finds the film powerful but says its courtroom scene and symbolism weaken its otherwise stark approach. She singles out Vanessa Kirby’s breathtaking performance, especially in the intense childbirth sequence. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/pieces-of-a-woman/) ## Variety — Peter Debruge Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 5 September 2020. Debruge finds the film a mature, masterfully acted drama, though its melodrama and symbolism sometimes feel overdone. He especially praises Vanessa Kirby’s nuanced performance and the remarkable childbirth sequence. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2020/film/reviews/pieces-of-a-woman-review-vanessa-kirby-shia-labeouf-1234760627/) ## Los Angeles Times — Justin Chang Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 6 January 2021. Chang finds the film uneven but emotionally powerful, with an irreducible core integrity. He particularly praises Vanessa Kirby’s restrained, commanding performance and the technically striking childbirth sequence. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2021-01-06/pieces-of-a-woman-review-vanessa-kirby-shia-la-beouf-netflix) ## The Hollywood Reporter — David Rooney Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 5 September 2020. Festival review. Rooney finds the drama heavy but absorbing, despite contrived passages and an overly theatrical courtroom climax. He especially praises Vanessa Kirby’s tough, emotionally charged performance as Martha. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/pieces-of-a-woman-film-review-venice-2020-4054618/) ## Screen Daily — Lee Marshall Fi1m's normalised score 67/100 (inferred from the text). 12 September 2020. Festival review. The visible text presents the film as an intense drama and praises Vanessa Kirby’s performance. The full review is behind a paywall, so its overall verdict cannot be confirmed. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/pieces-of-a-woman-venice-review/5152881.article) ## Sight and Sound — BFI Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 24 January 2021. The critic finds the film emotionally complex and ultimately somewhat too neatly resolved. They praise Vanessa Kirby and Ellen Burstyn’s performances, while faulting the ending for feeling trite after the film’s earlier complexity. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/pieces-of-a-woman-kornel-mundruczo-vanessa-kirby-grieving-mother) ## The New York Times Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 30 December 2020. The article page was inaccessible, so its verdict cannot be determined. No specific praise or complaint can be verified from the available page content. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/30/movies/pieces-of-a-woman-review.html) ## IndieWire — David Ehrlich Rating C+. 5 September 2020. Festival review. Ehrlich finds the drama scattered and unable to sustain the force of its opening, though it reaches toward a hard-won vision of acceptance. He praises Vanessa Kirby’s committed performance, especially in scenes that convey Martha’s ongoing grief. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/pieces-of-a-woman-review-1234584529/) ## Slant Magazine — Jake Cole Rating 2.5/4. 16 September 2020. Cole finds the film patchy, with its emotional focus weakened by the conventional trial plot. He praises Vanessa Kirby’s naturalistic performance and her nuanced portrayal of grief. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/pieces-of-a-woman-review-kornel-mundruczo-vanessa-kirby/) ## Time Out — Eurico de Barros Rating 3/5. 20 January 2021. The available description frames the film as a grinding, painful tragedy, but does not reveal the critic’s full verdict. It does not provide enough detail to identify a specific element singled out for praise or complaint. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/pt/filmes/pieces-of-a-woman) ## The AV Club — Beatrice Loayza Rating C-. 21 December 2020. The review finds the film’s portrayal of grief scattered, clichéd, and emotionally hollow. It praises Vanessa Kirby’s intense performance and the uninterrupted childbirth scene, but says the film fails to give Martha’s trauma genuine depth. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/vanessa-kirby-simmers-with-grief-in-the-loud-but-hollow-1845914608) ## The Guardian — Xan Brooks Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 5 September 2020. Festival review. Brooks finds the performances bruisingly impressive but says the film’s staged feel and insistent score keep its grief from landing fully. He singles out Vanessa Kirby and Shia LaBeouf’s powerful acting, while faulting the film for making their pain feel emotionally distant. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/sep/05/pieces-of-a-woman-review-agonised-portrait-of-a-splintering-marriage) ## The New Yorker — Richard Brody Fi1m's normalised score 15/100 (inferred from the text). 12 January 2021. Brody finds the film hollow and overblown, arguing that its effort to force emotion leaves its story unconvincing. He singles out the birth scene’s long, uninterrupted take as a suggestive but ultimately pointless device. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/pieces-of-a-woman-reviewed-a-tale-of-grief-gets-lost-in-the-details) ## NME Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). The review finds the film an affecting domestic drama, though its relentless misery may overwhelm some viewers. It singles out Vanessa Kirby’s scintillating performance and the harrowing continuous-shot birth scene for praise. [Read the review](https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/pieces-of-a-woman-review-vanessa-kirby-shia-labeouf-2852187) ## The Wrap — Steve Pond Fi1m's normalised score 72/100 (inferred from the text). 5 September 2020. Festival review. The critic finds the film an unsettling, emotionally powerful meditation on grief, though its sentimental ending is difficult to reconcile with the preceding darkness. Vanessa Kirby’s performance is singled out for making Martha’s pain visible, while the opening birth sequence is praised as gripping filmmaking. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/pieces-of-a-woman-film-review-vanessa-kirby-shia-labeouf-explore-shades-of-grief/) ## /Film — Chris Evangelista Rating 7/10. 15 September 2020. Festival review. The review finds the film emotionally powerful at first but ultimately unable to make its parts cohere. It praises Vanessa Kirby’s career-best performance and the expertly crafted, harrowing birth scene. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/576544/pieces-of-a-woman-review/) ## HeyUGuys Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). Festival review. The critic finds the film flawed but worthwhile, especially for its powerful opening. They single out Vanessa Kirby’s convincing performance during the 30-minute childbirth scene for praise. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/pieces-of-a-woman-review/) ## Paste — Jacob Oller Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 7 January 2021. Oller finds the drama uneven but compelling. He singles out its nearly half-hour birth scene and subtle images of depression and recovery. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/netflix/pieces-of-a-woman-depression-paralysis) ## The Playlist Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 5 September 2020. Festival review. The page could not be accessed, so its verdict cannot be established. No specific praise or complaint is available from the page text. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/pieces-of-a-woman-venice-review-20200905/) ## The Skinny — Jamie Dunn Rating ★★★. 5 January 2021. Dunn calls the film a blistering melodrama and praises its powerhouse performances. He singles out Vanessa Kirby’s vivid, compelling portrayal of Martha, while criticizing the heavy-handed symbolism. [Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/pieces-of-a-woman) ## Consequence — Joe Lipsett Fi1m's normalised score 45/100 (inferred from the text). 13 September 2020. Festival review. The review finds the film’s opening gripping but says the familiar marital drama that follows struggles to sustain interest. It singles out Vanessa Kirby’s performance and the opening sequence for praise. [Read the review](https://consequence.net/2020/09/film-review-pieces-of-a-woman/) ## Eye for Film — Amber Wilkinson Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 25 February 2021. Wilkinson finds the film grim and structurally fragmented, with characters too opaque or unpleasant to sustain interest. She praises Vanessa Kirby’s committed performance and Mundruczó’s skill in the opening single take, but says neither can overcome the script’s later melodrama. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/pieces-of-a-woman-2020-film-review-by-amber-wilkinson) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/pieces-of-a-woman.md