The World to Come Review

Up until it reached its (frankly, inevitable) ending, I absolutely loved The World to Come. It’s an utterly gorgeous film, shot with a keen eye by Mona Fastvold, and containing some remarkably still and nuanced performances. But then the ending comes and well, let’s just say that, as a queer woman, I could have told you that a period lesbian love story written by two straight cis men would almost certainly end with a tragedy. Sorry if you aren’t as conditioned as LGBTQ+ folk to expect that type of ending and I ruined it for you, but the deep well of disappointment I felt upon experiencing the end of this film left me angry. Because there’s so much to love about this film, and I had hoped that Hollywood had finally moved beyond the utilization of the Bury Your Gays trope as a means to end “forbidden” queer romance. But it appears I was wrong.

And this is a lovely lesbian romance, starring Katherine Waterston as Abigail, the film’s narrator, and Vanessa Kirby (doing a pretty good American accent) as Tallie, as a pair of star-crossed lovers, cocooned in their solitude in the Hudson River Valley in the late 1850s. Married to men (Casey Affleck is Dyer, Abigail’s husband who suspects something is happening but knows he cannot – and will not – demand his wife stop seeing her dear “friend” and Christopher Abbott is Finney, Tallie’s angry and possessive husband) who demand varying degrees of their attention and time, Tallie and Abigail fall in love, stealing moments alone, dreaming that they might someday live a life together but wholly aware of the improbability of that dream becoming realized. Hell, there’s a moment where Abigail quotes from the end of “King Lear,” in case you might have been holding out hope that the pair could overcome the obstacles in their path and live a full and happy life together.

But the journey down the road to tragedy is a beautiful one to walk. Fastvold crafts a slowly moving film, with shots of the lush scenery enveloping you in this isolated world and close-ups of her cast that allow their faces to do the work the script can’t handle. And Waterston and Kirby make the most of their limited dialogue (much of the script is in stilted, “period dialogue” that leaves a great deal to be desired when it comes to telling the story) – using their faces to express what their words cannot. The pacing of the film and the performances highlight the slow way Abigail and Tallie find themselves falling in love, with the sheltered Abigail not even realizing that what she is feeling for her friend is an all-consuming romantic attraction until it all but hits her in the face with its ferocity. It’s impossible not to be swept away with the love story, recognizing how new love can do crazy things to people, making them believe they are invincible and that no one else in the world ever felt this raw and this strongly about another before. It’s a gorgeous arc to watch.

But, as with so many love stories, reality enters the picture, shattering the tale. And here’s where the story doesn’t quite hold up. Crafting the script from Abigail’s perspective works in the early two-thirds of the film, as it provides a much needed insight into her frame of mind. Abigail, after all, is a character who doesn’t emote much – who keeps her thoughts and feelings to herself and rarely exposes them to those around her. Allowing us to understand her character better via the use of narration provides a much needed insight into what would otherwise be a cypher of a character. Unfortunately, this means that we only really get to experience Abigail’s thoughts on her fellow characters, which means we never fully grasp what makes Tallie tick – or just how troubling Finney is (although the signs of abuse and his temper are clear from the outset). For The World to Come to completely work – and for it to earn its tragic ending – we needed to spend more time with Tallie and have her presented to us as a fully-formed character. Kirby does a hell of a lot with what she is given, and it’s easy to see how Abigail fell for Tallie (and to see that Tallie loves her just as much), but we never get the full story of who she is and why she ended up where she did. While the script provides us with a full picture of Abigail, it fails to do the same for Tallie, and the film is poorer for it.

I can certainly recommend the film for its excellent direction and its great performances, however I can’t in good conscience recommend yet another film that tells a tragic tale of lesbian love. If you are looking for a period lesbian love story that doesn’t kill off its protagonist, might I recommend Portrait of a Lady on Fire or Carol? I suspect you will find those to be stronger across the board.

The World to Come is currently playing at select theatres – however, due to the current pandemic, Pop Culture Maniacs does not endorse seeing films in public theatres. This critic watched the film as part of the virtual Sundance Film Festival. The film will be available via VOD on March 2, 2021.