I missed day 7 of Toronto After Dark 2011, but I was ready for day 8 as The Woman kicked off the night. I’m sure we’ve all heard about The Woman, what with that angry viewer getting booted at the Sundance screening of the film.
What I didn’t realize is that The Woman is a sequel to the film The Offspring, which was a sequel to the novel Off Season. It kind of makes my head spin and of course I’m off to find The Offspring to see where this story (kind of) started from. I do know that The Woman had a very dark sense of humor, as well as being a particularly brutal film.
I’m not sure I see the point in walking out of the movie, or why anyone would really have that much trouble with it, and anyone familiar with Lucky McKee should be ready for anything.
The Cleek family, father Chris (Sean Bridgers), mother Belle (Angela Bettis), daughter Peggy (Lauren Ashley Carter), youngest daughter Darlin’ (Shyla Molhusen), and son Brian (Zach Rand) become an unexpected surrogate family when Chris finds a woman (Pollyanna McIntosh) in the forest. He’s decided that they’re going to civilize her and bring her back into society. Things start to go wrong as Chris’ true nature is revealed, Brian shows he not much better than dad, and Belle and Peggy find themselves caught in the middle. Yes, it’s uncomfortable and brutal, but it’s nothing that really goes too far. I know that I’ve seen much worse before.
Belle and Chris find themselves at odds over a woman found in the wilderness.
The fact that the wild Woman Chris finds is probably more civilized than he is, becomes the underlying theme of the story. The more we learn about Chris, the harder it is to believe he has any good intentions with the Woman. Brian is also on the fast track to becoming just like dear old dad and having the Woman chained in the basement is only speeding up the process. It’s Belle, Peggy, and Darlin’ that are caught up in the madness. There really isn’t much else for them to do when Chris is the one in charge. The story plays out well but the ending is not only shocking, but slightly confusing. With a basic idea of the premise of The Offspring, I can kind of understand what’s going on, but even then there are some questions that I couldn’t answer.
The Woman chained in the shed only serves to show just how screwed up the Cleek family really is.
It’s an inevitable end for the Cleek family and you can be sure that it would only be a matter of time before they wound up where they do, but the more they try to civilize the Woman, the more uncivilized they become. Obviously you know that no good can come from chaining a woman up in your shed, but I have to wonder if it was the best thing for the Cleek’s. She serves as a wake up call for certain members of the family, the bloody solution to the problems they face, even if things don’t exactly turn out perfectly. It’s that shock at the end of the film that really caught me off guard. I never would have imagined what happened and I’m still not sure if it was a satisfying conclusion.
I heard rumblings that there was still another film on the way, maybe offering up the answers to those questions that I had left. I’ll certainly be there to check it out and would really love to see and read everything else about the Woman and her life. Some may find it hard to sit through, others may not see the point or purpose behind the film, but I found that it was a great time. Actually, the soundtrack was amazingly good. It’s something I’d love to be able to find if I can. For a film that does have some brutal moments, the humor and the upbeat music is an oddly perfect fit. Horror fans should make sure this one is on their radar.
In the shadows – Will
