With five Oscar nominations, two Golden Globe wins and an Emmy Award to her name, Michelle Williams is one of the most acclaimed actors we've got today.
Since her breakout as Jen Lindley on "Dawson's Creek" all the way back in the late '90s, the actress has famously portrayed Marilyn Monroe in 2011's "My Week with Marilyn", Gwen Verdon in 2019's "Fosse/Verdon" and Steven Spielberg's mother in 2022's "The Fabelmans."
Her latest leading role in Hulu's "Dying for Sex" — as a woman with terminal cancer who leaves her husband and embarks on a journey of sexual exploration — is a great reminder of Williams's versatility and vulnerability as a performer, a deeply felt yearning that reminded me of one of her best films: Kelly Reichardt's small-scale 2016 drama "Certain Women."
The anthology film joins Williams with fellow powerhouse female actors — including Academy Award winner Laura Dern and Oscar nominees Kristen Stewart and Lily Gladstone — playing ordinary but no less captivating women living in rural Montana.
As of last week, "Certain Women is available to stream on Paramount Plus and here's why you should add the critically acclaimed Michelle Williams movie to your next watchlist.
What is 'Certain Women' about?
Adapted from three short stories by Maile Meloy," Certain Women" is an absorbing, introspective character study centered on a trio of strong-willed women as they navigate their romantic relationships, professional ambitions, personal disappointments and daily struggles in the wide-open plains of Montana.
Structured as an anthology, the women occupy separate but interconnected stories. One follows a lawyer named Laura Wells (Laura Dern) stuck dealing with a difficult client (Jared Harris), a contractor who was injured in an accident.
Another centers on Jamie (a heartbreakingly expressive Lily Gladstone), a lonely ranch hand who forms an attachment to a young lawyer played by Kristen Stewart.
The middle segment, however, sees Williams portray Gina Lewis, a wealthy wife and mother who is building her rural dream home with her husband, Ryan (James Le Gros). However, a seemingly mundane excursion to pick up a stockpile of indigenous sandstone for the renovations spotlights cracks in the couple's marriage.
For all of Gina's outward certainty and assertiveness about the way things should look and be, there's quite a lot of discontent simmering below the surface. She may be surrounded by people all of the time, but inside, Gina is just as lonely and isolated as Gladstone's ranch hand.
Why you should stream 'Certain Women' on Paramount Plus
Written, edited and directed by Kelly Reichardt, "Certain Women" marks the third big-screen collaboration between the director and star Michelle Williams. The actress previously featured in Reichardt's shattering 2008 drama "Wendy and Lucy" — in which she plays a homeless woman who searches for her lost dog in Alaska — as well as the filmmaker's bleak 2010 Western "Meek's Cutoff," playing a frontier wife trying to survive during a journey on the Oregon Trail.
That professional history means that Williams is uniquely attuned to the kind of naturalistic and atmospheric filmmaking that Reichardt regularly operates in, which she beautifully displays in her quietly devastating performance in "Certain Women."
Through minimal dialogue and extended silences, Williams makes it painfully evident that her character's marital woes aren't massive. Rather, they're small, gnawing grievances, the kind of microscopic dynamics and unspoken tensions that can't be clearly identified unless shoved under a lens.
As well as praise for Williams's individual performance, "Certain Women" overall received wide critical acclaim for its accomplished cast and Reichardt's direction. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, it's got a high 92% rating — an A in our books.
The website's consensus reads: "'Certain Women' further demonstrates writer-director Kelly Reichardt's gift for telling the stories of ordinary people with uncommon empathy and skill."
If you want more quality movies, check out these 5 new to Paramount Plus movies with 90% or higher on Rotten Tomatoes.
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