I’d heard a lot of praised heaped upon this movie before I finally got to see it. Thankfully, it deserves all of the goodwill it has been receiving. Lucky McKee, who wrote the story with Jack Ketchum, gives us a grim, twisted tale of abuse that puts even the likes of The Girl Next Door (the 2007 movie based on Ketchum’s work as opposed to the 2004 teen comedy) in the shade.
While he’s out hunting one day, Chris Cleek (Sean Bridgers) spots a feral woman (Pollyanna McIntosh) in the woods. He goes home and gets the family to clear up some space in a basement before returning to the woods the next day and capturing the woman. Once she’s safely chained up he gathers the family around to see her and explains that they will make it their duty to train the woman and make her better. The son (Zach Rand) accepts this quite enthusiastically while Belle Cleek (Angela Bettis) and the two daughters (Lauren Ashley Carter and the young Shyla Molhusen) seem a bit more conflicted. It’s not long before the presence of the wild woman causes problems and highlights a number of problems within the family unit.
People have walked out of screenings of The Woman, it’s been accused of being completely misogynistic and I’m sure that as more people end up seeing it more people will end up being offended by the content. It’s not designed to be an easy ride, not made as a comfortable viewing to pop into the player on a Saturday night. No, The Woman is a disturbing and wince-inducing movie that works because of some great writing, great direction (McKee really has quite a talent, though others who fell in love with May already knew that) and fantastic performances.
Sean Bridgers is the nasty head of the family and shows this in almost every other line of dialogue. From the casual way he orders around his family members to the quick slap he gives his wife when she speaks “out of turn” just before heading to bed – this man really IS a misogynist and a horrible character, made all the more unpleasant because of his behaviour in front of others and how he clearly knows how society would judge his actions. Angela Bettis is a revelation here, giving quite a fantastic performance at last free of tics and quirks I have seen her saddled with in past Lucky McKee projects (May and his Master Of Horror episode). She plays a rather weak character but plays her in a way that somehow still keeps you on her side, willing her to better her situation. Lauren Ashley Carter is superb as the older daughter appalled by the family situation while dealing with her own secret problem, Zach Rand is extremely easy to dislike as the son who is far too much like his father and Shyla Molhusen is, quite simply, adorable for almost every moment she has onscreen. She’s a small glimmer of sunshine amongst the clouds. Carlee Baker, as concerned schoolteacher Genevieve Raton, is just fine though her character really seems to be there to provide a bit of breathing room throughout the first half of the movie. And then there’s the fantastic, powerful and brave performance of Pollyanna McIntosh as the titular woman. Reprising her role from Offspring (a previous movie based on Jack Ketchum’s work though there’s no need to have seen it before seeing this one), McIntosh spends most of the movie barely clothed, badly wounded and covered in grime and still, despite her feral manner, shows more humanity and real spirit than her male captor.
There are a number of lively rock tracks interspersed throughout the movie and, hard as it is to believe, a streak of pitch-black humour but I’d say that these things are necessary just to help audiences get to the end of such an uncomfortable ordeal. Lucky McKee never shows himself to be misogynistic and never, ever allows us to think for one second that Chris Cleek has anything in mind but his own selfish interests. It may seem like an impartial look at a horrific situation but the bias, the judgment, is quite clearly there throughout. If you don’t notice that then you’re just not looking hard enough. That moral stance is what, ultimately, makes The Woman work as so much more than just a nasty piece of exploitation.
Those wishing to end their viewing with a hint of a smile would be advised to view the small sequence after the end credits have rolled that ends the movie with something appropriately delightful yet still a bit dark.
The Woman snarls onto DVD and Blu-ray here in the UK on Monday 17th October with each disc set to feature a number of featurettes, a short film and a music video.
DIRECTOR: LUCKY MCKEE
WRITER: JACK KETCHUM, LUCKY MCKEE
STARS: POLLYANNA MCINTOSH, SEAN BRIDGERS, ANGELA BETTIS, LAUREN ASHLEY CARTER, ZACH RAND, CARLEE BAKER, SHYLA MOLHUSEN
RUNTIME: 101 MINS APPROX
COUNTRY: USA
Film Rating: 
