FILM: THE WOMAN

THE WOMAN (2011)

Civilized Monsters.

By: Zach Owen

Directed by: Lucky McKee

Written by: Lucky McKee and Jack Ketchum

Starring: Pollyanna McIntosh,  Sean Bridgers, Angela Bettis

Our Rating: 9/10

“That is not civilized behavior,” Chris Cleek (Sean Bridgers) says to the vicious woman he is holding captive in an underground chamber, after she bites off one third of his ring finger. But the truth is, Chris is the least civilized character in the 2011 adaptation of the Jack Ketchum/Lucky McKee novel The Woman, which may be the most telling revelation of the film’s intent. Ketchum and McKee also wrote the screenplay, with McKee at the directing helm.

The Woman is the third in a series of novels about a marauding band of cannibals—the previous two being Off Season and Offspring. Interestingly, there has been no adaptation of Off Season, but Offspring was adapted and subsequently released in 2009, to little acclaim. The film version of The Woman is technically a sequel to Offspring, sharing the character of “The Woman”, played in both films by actress Pollyana McIntosh. The Woman is, for all intents and purposes, the better film. Viewers need not know these details, though—The Woman works very well as a stand-alone film.

The Woman begins with a lone female survivor of the now deceased cannibal tribe wandering through the woods—a relic of a simpler existence wiped almost entirely from the earth. She bears a scar, but walks confidently as she hunts. She has a child hidden away. This child will never have the chance to grow into an adult—only a few days later The Woman’s way of life will be permanently disrupted by Chris Cleek, the handsome, fun-loving Dad of the Cleek family, which consists of wife Belle, daughters Peg and Darlin’, and son Brian.
Chris spots The Woman while hunting, bathing in a stream, bearing her breasts. And so he decides to return later and abduct her, and consequently make his family “help” her. They agree too easily. And so begins the downward descent of the Cleek family. Those unfamiliar with Jack Ketchum will note his flair for human drama—he is a drama writer as much as a horror writer, and The Woman is no different. The film centers on the deterioration of the Cleek family, The Woman being merely the driving force that pulls them together and simultaneously separates them.

McKee’s stylistic flourishes and use of a great soundtrack heighten the film’s effectiveness, particularly the latter. In many cases the lyrics of any given song are directly parallel to the goings-on of the film, and many times ironic in a way that is darkly humorous. In one case a country singer proclaims, as Chris interacts with The Woman, “she’s a complicated woman, I’m nothing but a simple man,” which is opposite the truth—The Woman is simple, and Chris is a complex in that he is something more than the audience perceives him to be, initially—he is an absolute monster, the true predator of the film. A more loathsome character in recent horror history does not come to mind. Chris is a repulsive, frightening personification of pure misogyny. His son isn’t much better. As the film continues, Chris and his son begin to perform barbaric acts against the woman, including rape and molestation (though these scenes are, honestly, not nearly as graphic as the press would have you think). This is only the tip of the ice-berg.

Of particular note is Angela Bettis, who plays Belle, a role far removed from her breakthrough role in McKee’s electric debut May. As the mother of the house, Belle chooses to be purposely oblivious to her surroundings, and when she does try to take action, it is simply too late.

Without divulging too much about the plot—the women of the house and the men of the house inadvertently become opposing forces. The Woman gradually builds and builds, tightening the tension of the family so much that when the proverbial rope finally snaps, the world comes down. The last act of the film is powerful and disturbing in its implications of dysfunctional families, misogyny, and primal behavior. The violence flows freely and the viewer is brought to a level of intense nervousness, and finally a twist so left-field, yet so obvious and logical throws the film into such dark recesses that the final conflict brings the film full-circle and actually relieves the viewer.

Every actor and actress in The Woman is at the top of their game, with Pollyana McIntosh at the head of the pack. Her performance as The Woman is convincing—we grow to marvel at her, fear her, and even sympathize with her, rooting for her to escape from the real monsters and return to her simple, uncomplicated life, despite the fact that if we were to encounter her in real life, she would have no qualms about tearing us to shreds and devouring us.

The thoughtful viewer will pick up on a lot of images that foreshadow the film’s conclusion, and also images that have some sociological meaning behind them. The Woman is not, as one reviewer put it “a torture-porn for people who think they don’t like torture porn.” At no point does it seem that McKee and Ketchum are advocating the actions of Chris Cleek, and the most graphic violence in the film is visceral and fast—hardly on the screen long enough to make the film a “torture-porn.” In fact, the film is relatively tame until the final act. The film’s biggest fault is the lack of hair on The Woman’s armpits.

Scenes from The Woman linger in the mind long after the film is finally over and germinate inside the brain. On the outside, the Cleek family appears to have some degree of normalcy and rationale. On the outside, The Woman appears only to be a ruthless killer. But these two statements are proven untrue, and for that The Woman has my applause. This is not shock for the sake of shock, but storytelling, drama, and depth.

McKee previously tried to adapt Ketchum’s novel Red. After a troubled production and disagreements with the producers, he was subsequently replaced by another director. This time around he made it through the production without such issues. Let’s hope this is incentive for him to continue his work with Ketchum.

We want to thank guest writer Zach Owen for this insightful review. Bloody Disgusting, The Collective, Salient Media, and Monster Pictures for providing our screener. This film is, unfortunately, not showing in Erie.

Related links: The Woman official site

MPAA rating: Rated R for strong bloody violence, torture, a rape, disturbing behavior, some graphic nudity, and language.

Length: 101 minutes

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