Review - The Woman

After watching Lucky Mckee's The Woman, I have been mulling and stewing about what to write for a few days. McKee and writer Jack Ketchum have created something major here but something that is about as divisive as films can get. The film made famous by the walk outs at film festivals, walks the horror line, dipping into social commentary and black comedy.

The bare bones of the plot is simple enough - When a successful country lawyer captures and attempts to "civilize" the last remaining member of a violent clan that has roamed the Northeast coast for decades, he puts the lives of his family in jeopardy...however there is far, far , far more going on in this film.

The film has been called misogynistic yet it could be argued that the males in the film are written as the worst characters and what ends up happening to them both would be the opposite of misogynistic, so yes whilst the women are treated poorly, the men don't get off lightly either. There is also spectre of domestic violence hovering above the whole film, both the mental and physical abuse suffered by the wife is difficult to watch and when she does speak up she pays a heavy toll.

The film could also be called a feminist film, in the same way the original I Spit on Your Grave film is. Chris Cleek captures the woman to brake her down and civilise her, much like he has broken the women in his family. As always where the down trodden are, the is always a chance of an uprising despite the cost.



Russel Brand took the break up hard...

The family function or dysfunction is another intricate part of the film with incest hinted at through out the film, which you can truly believe as the family have learnt their place, the father runs the family as the King - what he says goes, no exceptions.

An amazing performance from Sean Bridgers as papa Cleek, as menacing as he is bland, his true nature is covered by a thin veil of pleasantries, it is such a good performance that he manages to play this monster of man with black comedy and a vein of satire, whilst staying truly and wholly believable. All the other family members (Angela Bettis,Zach Rand, Lauren Ashley Carter) really play their parts well but this film would be nothing if it wasn't for the feral, rage monster that is The Woman played by Pollyanna McIntosh. She puts everything into this performance and it is some of the best acting you are ever likely to see.
At the climax of the film when all hell has broken loose and you truly find out the real nature of the family, the violence comes thick, fast and bloody. A toll is exacted on the family, whilst at the same time and I'm being vague so as not to spoil it - a great deal of mercy and care is shown - something which the 'civilised' did not afford the 'uncivilised'.
A really thought provoking film that some will write off as unimportant but this film is what horror is all about. The evil in the banality of life, the evil that happens behind closed doors, the evil lurks beneath the surface of everyday people. An amazing film.