Review of The Woman (2011) by James K — 31 Aug 2012

The Woman, the fourth feature by director Lucky McKee is his best since his first, the masterpiece May. It also shares the dizzy tone shifts and oddball balance between comedy and disgust that May did. That might be because this is the first film to also be written by McKee, he shares co-screenwriting credit with acclaimed horror novelist Jack Ketchum.

The film's premise is a simple one. Seemingly devout and kind family man Chris Cleek comes across a feral woman in the woods while hunting, captures her, and decides that his family should "civilize her." The first two thirds of the film is a sharp and original satire on this theme. Unfortunately, the second theme of the movie, misogyny, begins to assert itself. When McKee first begins to show the connections between the wild woman and the women in the family it adds a new dimension, but it starts to become so heavy handed that it overwhelms the film.

These themes deserve to be addressed. I just wish they had been a little more subtly applied. It distresses me that the film received charges of being misogynist. Love it or hate it, could any film be less misogynist than this one? Perhaps the men in the audience should have complained.

The movie gets a lot of mileage out of excellent performances. Sean Bridgers is great as both a smiling sitcom Dad and psychopath. Pollyana McIntosh barely speaks as The Woman but is still unforgettable. McKee regular Angela Bettis is known for playing quirky oddball roles, so her turn as the "perfect" wife in this dysfunctional family is good against type casting. Only Carlee Baker as a teacher who gets involved with the family is unconvincing.

Until the third act the film still has a chance at snatching greatness. It is here that McKee goes over-the-top with both satire and gore. With a better ending he might have created another classic, but McKee confirms that he knows how to make a good horror film better than most of his contemporaries. At least that is something.