I had the honor and pleasure to host a Q&A with Sarah Polley after a screening of Women Talking about a month before the film was released in theaters. I told her, "I bet you'll get nominated for an Oscar." She laughed off that suggestion. Turns out I was partially right. The script did get nominated ... and won for Best Adapted Screenplay.

What I found remarkable about the script is how it takes what essentially is a stage play setting, a barn loft, and a group of women who are ... talking. And make that a dramatic, cinematic experience.

It helps that the subject matter and subculture -- a conservative sectarian religious community -- are so compelling. Plus, there's a ticking clock: when the men return.

But it's mostly about the "journeys" the key characters take as they come to grips with their situation and how to respond to the revelation that many of the women have been repeatedly and for years been sexually assaulted after having been rendered unconscious.

This movie is the epitome of what Hollywood calls a "character piece." It's all about the characters and their interactions.

Tomorrow: Plot.