In a contemporary independent cinematic landscape, there are few filmmakers as consistently reliable as Kelly Reichardt, who has gone relatively underpraised throughout her career, despite the fact that she has made some astonishing films that push the boundary of independent storytelling. Films such as Meek’s Cutoff and Wendy and Lucy are exceptional examples of minimalist filmmaking, telling stories through meaningful, character-driven narratives. Her most recent film is also perhaps her most notable and significant, the simple and unassuming, but toweringly effective Certain Women, an investigation of the lives of different women in modern Montana. Each of these women goes about their lives, facing their daily trials and tribulations, filled with challenges of modern existence. The film is told through three different stories centering on different characters, and they partially overlap in the final moments of the film. Each story follows one of these women as they face a particular challenge, which may be considered nothing less than insignificant minutiae, but in the hands of Reichardt, they gain monumental importance. The simplicity of each story paints a delicate portrait of a strong and independent woman, making this a film void of any cliche or stereotype, with Reichardt constructing one of the most honest, humane films of this generation, and a complex but honest representation of reality.

The first story is focused on Laura Wells (Laura Dern), a lawyer who has a particularly difficult client, middle-aged William Fuller (Jared Harris), who was injured while on the job and feels that he is liable to recompensation – however, some negligent choices regarding insurance, as well as his own behavior, results in William not getting anything. As a result, he decides to take vengeance by breaking into his former workplace and holding one of the security guards hostage. Laura, the only person that he could trust, is deployed in to try and reason with him, and what she encounters is a violent and irrational man, albeit a broken soul who only believes in earning the justice he feels he is entitled to. Laura has to go beyond her position as a simple lawyer and rely on friendship and trust to convince her client to not make a mistake that can result in the proverbial end of his freedom – but ultimately, when having to choose between doing what is right and what is easy, she ultimately opts for the moral choice, which perhaps was not the ethical one. Does she allow her client, an illogical and impulsive man, to escape, or does she help the police send him to jail by selling him out? It is not an easy decision for Laura, but it is a necessary one.

Laura Dern can simply do no wrong – whether it is in her collaborations with David Lynch in films such as Inland Empire, Wild at Heart or on Twin Peaks: the Return, or in any of her other notable performances, either on television or in cinemas, Dern is always magnificent and stunning in her regal dominance of the scene. She is effortlessly likable, and undeniably endearing regardless of the performance. Dern possesses a very rare quality, whereby she is capable of extreme excess, or profound subtlety, depending on what the role demands of her. A film like Certain Women required a simple, restrained performance – and Dern delivered such. Her performance is quietly moving, and while of the four women that are the focus of the film, Dern has the least-developed character, someone who does not have a challenge that questions her personally, but rather professionally – but her moral quandary is certainly fascinating, and she conveys the turmoil of this character extremely well. Jared Harris is also wonderful as the damaged William Fuller, who just wants justice, but fails to think logically and ends up making a dire mistake that costs him his freedom. This story bookends the film, and while it does not have the biggest impact, it is certainly an effective start and end to this extraordinary film.

The second story is focused on Gina Lewis (Michelle Williams), who is in the process of building her own house in rural Montana with the assistance of her husband (James LeGros) and her daughter, Guthrie (Sara Rodier). Gina sets her sights on a pile of sandstone on the property of the elderly and somewhat delusional Albert (René Auberjonois), and she and her husband set out to convince him to sell them the rubble to build their house with, as Gina is insisting on authenticity to adhere to the natural beauty of their surroundings. However, she realizes that she is constantly being undermined by her husband in the raising of their daughter, with people naturally being drawn to his laid-back, charming attitude and finding her willful persistence exhausting. However, she is determined to gain what she desires – to convince Albert to give her the sandstone, as well as to earn the respect of those around her, to overcome the idea that her attitude is not simply being domineering or “bossy”, but rather just indicative of her strength of character and determination. Gina is not backing down, but she struggles to figure out how to make this sentiment known to those around her without her intentions being misconstrued.

I find Michelle Williams to be an actress that normally succeeds on the kind of performance she is given – her performances in bigger films often do not result in particularly great performances, especially considering some of her smaller performances are often towering achievements. Williams thrives the best in an independent environment, in films that allow her to showcase her remarkable restraint. Certain Women is one such a film, giving her a role that does not expect much from her other than her quiet intensity and natural charm. She is always at her best when the role requires simplicity of execution, as it allows her to develop the hidden nuances of the character and construct her performance into something more complex and profound. Certain Women is a film that allows her to convey a panoply of emotions in such a small, constrained space, and Williams provides a performance that is stunning and meaningful, without a single false note to be heard. Certain Women, in its anthology format, does not necessarily allow for long passages whereby these characters can be developed fully, and Reichardt and her performers had the difficult task of creating entire characters to occupy only a few minutes. However, Williams (as well as the rest of the cast) do so with remarkable aplomb, and the result is something very special.

The third and final story is also the most exceptional of the three stories and focuses on Jamie (Lily Gladstone), a young rancher who leads a lonely existence, spending most of her time with horses as opposed to people. Her curiosity gets the better of her one evening when she spots a group of people entering the local school, and she soon discovers that they are attending a seminar series on school law, taught by the young and slightly inexperienced Beth (Kristen Stewart), a lawyer who makes the four hour journey twice a week to teach the class. Jamie finds herself being drawn to Beth, and starts developing an infatuation with the young woman, and tries (perhaps in vain) to connect with her on a deeper level, giving her rides to the local diner on a horse, and even driving across the state to find Beth when she stops teaching the class. Jamie found a kindred spirit and is determined to develop that relationship to the point where she can Beth how she truly feels – if she ever gets the opportunity.

It goes without saying that this story was my favorite of the three in Certain Women. Touching and deeply resonant, it has the most perfect narrative and the best performances. As much as I adore Dern and Williams in this film, it is Lily Gladstone that gives the finest performance as the lonely rancher who simply wants a meaningful human connection. Her salvation comes in the form of Kristen Stewart, who is at her very best here. I do not need to once again sing the praises for Stewart, who is truly wonderful in nearly everything she has done post-Twilight, including this film. A simple but effective performance from an actress who constantly surprises me with her raw nerve and effortless charisma. The chemistry between the two leads was palpable, and they both give astonishing performances that contribute to the melancholic nature of the story. In particular, it is Gladstone that truly astounded me, with her natural portrayal of a lonely woman being the best performance in the film, and indicative of a truly talented young actress who hopefully has a promising career ahead of her. There are very few representations of Native American characters quite as nuanced and truthful as this, whereby the character is not stereotypical or used as a plot-device, but a well-formed, fully-realized individual in her own right and such a representation certainly does go a very long way in making the contemporary cinematic landscape more diverse and inclusive. The preceding two stories, while wonderful in their own right, seem to be merely precursors to the final one, setting the tone and atmosphere in which the final story thrives in all its resonant beauty.

Having considered these stories individually, what can be said about them collectively? There are some recurrent themes throughout, and despite each story being distinct and separate, they have many similarities. The most obvious, as mentioned previously, is that these three stories all focus on female characters living in contemporary Montana, and each one faces some challenges, monumental or minute, that they need to overcome themselves. More than this, we can extract the theme of isolation from these three stories – Laura, Gina, and Jamie are all lonely women, either physically or mentally – Gina may have a family, but her husband and daughter get along better with each other than they do with her. Laura has to sneak out of her office on her lunch break to meet with a lover, clearly being engaged in an affair. Jamie is surrounded by farmland and horses, and while there are always people within reach, she feels undeniably isolated from them. Each of the three women is detached from reality, undergoing a process of self-reflection and introspection to determine how to overcome the loneliness. Reichardt does not offer any solid solutions, and the film has a very melancholy, almost bleak, resolution, whereby none of these characters necessarily receive the resolution they desire, but there is some conclusion to their stories that indicate that while one’s problems may remain stagnant, time continues to move and whether it is Gina secretly smoking a cigarette away from her family, or Jamie continuing to work as a rancher, there is some movement towards nihilistic utopia that is implied throughout this film. Perhaps the most subversive resolution comes in the form of Laura’s final scene, where she visits William in prison – they are now both trapped, isolated characters, the only difference is that William’s entrapment is both physical and hopefully temporary, having a time-frame after which he will regain his freedom. Laura is not quite as lucky, because her loneliness and despair seem like it will last forever. But like the other characters, she keeps an optimistic spirit about it.

Certain Women is a magnificent film. Deeply meaningful and melancholic, it is a beautiful ode to independent women, and while it may be focused on the seemingly insignificant minutiae of everyday life, it will surely resonate with nearly every viewer. The cast is kept small and thus it is filled with restrained and profoundly complex performances from a quartet of terrific women, each of which adds tremendously to the film and its delightfully profound message. It is unassuming, minimalistic filmmaking, and it has a complete lack of grandiosity and excess, rather serving to be a straightforward, quiet exploration of the human condition, told through the eyes of a set of individuals simply travelling through life, experiencing moments that may resonate with people all around the world, regardless of where we come from or who we are. It is a beautiful, delicate and meaningful film, and Kelly Reichardt continues to prove herself to be one of the most unheralded filmmakers working today.