Recensioni di Metacritic

Ultimately, The Woodmans is a haunting study in family dynamics.

Family dynamics examined through the prism of art: The Woodmans, C. Scott Willis's compelling documentary study of an artistic clan whose comfortable life was shattered by the suicide of its youngest member, asks profound questions to which there really are no answers.

As frank, discerning and eloquent as its subjects, The Woodmans is one of the most affecting art-themed documentaries.

Intentionally or unintentionally, there's a degree of accusation to The Woodmans that's discomfiting, almost as if Willis is indicting Francesca's parents for being so self-involved-even though they're just answering his questions as honestly as they can.

Directed by C. Scott Willis, this beautifully shot documentary blends Francesca's work -- photos, videos and passages from her diary -- with interviews.

It's impossible to listen to Francesca's parents, deadly serious about art as a higher calling, without feeling both saddened and disturbed.

If The Woodmans has something profound to say-and it does, unwittingly-it's that art can't raise a child solo.

What emerges is a portrait of the "psychic risk," as her father says, of living a creative life - and the intense feeling that entails.

For all the interviewees who tearfully speak of her work, the film does anything but.