Pieces of a Woman (2020)

Ellen Burstyn: Elizabeth

Photos 

Quotes 

• Elizabeth : And I'm ashamed of me. That I wasn't a good enough mother to teach you how to stand up and speak for yourself, for God's sakes. And to deal with this. Like my mother taught me. After my father went into the ghetto, my mother found a shack, an empty shack, that she went into and gave birth to me. Without any help at all. She stashed me under the floorboards when she had to go out and steal food. So she could make milk enough to keep me alive, but just alive. Not strong enough to cry, or we'd be caught. When she finally got me to a doctor, he advised her to just let me go. That I wasn't... I wasn't strong enough to survive. But when she absolutely insisted, he picked me up by my feet and held me up like a chicken and said, "If she tries to lift her head, then there's hope." And you know what I did, Martha? I lifted my head. That's what I'm asking you to do now. Lift your head and fight for yourself, for God's sakes! Go out there and face that woman.

• Elizabeth : [to Sean]  I've always been meaning to ask you: how is it you can build a bridge, when you can't tell time?