The World to Come (2020)

Directed by: Mona Fastvold | 105 minutes | drama | Actors: Katherine Waterston, Casey Affleck, Vanessa Kirby, Christopher Abbott, Karina Ziana Gherasim, Ioachim Ciobanu, Daniel Blumberg, Andreea Vasile, Liana Navrot, Sandra Personnic-House, James Longshore

Not a trend, but noticeable. In the years around 2020 we will see a remarkable number of films about lesbian love in a historical setting in a short period of time. About neat ladies who fall for other neat ladies in a society that isn’t ready for that yet. With all the associated risks. From ‘Portrait de la jeune fille en feu’ and ‘Ammonite’ to the American historical drama ‘The World to Come’.

In ‘The World to Come’ we meet the introverted emotional person Abigail. She lives with her husband Dyer on a remote farm in a beautiful hilly landscape in the north of the US. The year is 1853, life on the land is hard, deadly diseases are lurking. Abigail and Dyer’s daughter has died of such an illness. Abigail has withdrawn into herself after this terrible event, but comes back to life when one day she meets her new neighbor Tallie. The women are immediately attracted to each other, although at first it remains with longing glances.

What goes on in the heart of Abigail, we as viewer get through the voice-over. The voice-over reads fragments from Abigail’s diary, whom we get to know as a still water with deep and somewhat dark grounds. “With little pride and less hope, we start the new year”. The lyrics are poetic and enlightening, although they sometimes tend towards the cliché.

‘The World to Come’ is mainly based on the great acting performances of the ladies Waterston and Kirby. From the first meeting we believe in their love as well as in the doubts and fear it causes. The beautiful images of the American landscape (shot in Romania, in the absence of such landscapes in America) are also worth seeing. What also works well is the calm chronological structure. Beginning in the frosty winter months, we experience the seasons, with all their beauty and danger.

The dialogues are remarkably formal and stiff. In itself appropriate to this milieu, but sometimes the words and facial expressions do not quite match. Also a pity that the music, mostly serving and in the background, goes completely over the top when something heavy happens. Yet these are only minor flaws of a fascinating and atmospheric drama. A drama that fits perfectly into the near-trend of the years around 2020.