She Will

First of all, this is not a horror movie. It uses horror elements, but I would categorize it as a psychological drama with supernatural elements, and it moves more slowly and deliberately than horror films tend to do. The plot here is simple, and intends to be. It's only a vehicle for the portrait. The complexities are lyrical and poetical. As others have noted, the film is gorgeously shot, and the imagery is wonderfully constructed. The image that frames the movie is "explained" in the end by a single line, delivered by the always otherworldly Alice Krige, who turns in a stellar performance. Indeed, in many ways this is her movie, as well as her meta-movie, and it to Colbert's credit that she, Colbert, lets her have her way with it. Colbert is an interesting director, and one to watch. This is a strong film and deserves a wider audience.

First off, I must say that the cinematography is absolutely stunning and the acting was great. What made the film worth watching however, was Clint Mansell's score. A masterpiece.

There's basically no real dialogue in the film. It's 98% imagery, i didn't mind at first, but halfway through it became so redundant and exhausting to watch a film with no conversations. This uber-Indie, "i'm so alternative" avant-garde nonsense became unspeakably annoying. The whole film is just a collection of vivid dreams and paranoias, with one or two words thrown in.

Also, easily one of the most abrupt, "what just happened here?" kind of endings.

I only finished watching it because i loved the music. I'm quite disappointed. I really wanted to love it, but it was 100% just beautifully boring.

My recommendation? Skip the movie and just listen to the soundtrack.

I'm an old lady. I teethed on Brecht, MacLeish and Albee. I came of age on the smoky balconies of 'foreign film' theaters. My husband declares, "if it's weird, you'll watch it." Little annoys me more than watching a film by a director who gets in the way of their own art - like She Wills.

The film has a very good folk horror story, finely crafted performances and an intriguing point of view, but it's thin on characterization and director Colbert's repetitively obscure ( almost navel gazing) storytelling style often leaves the audience in the cold.

Like most people, I either like a film or I don't. I can't recall ever seeing a film that left me longing to be engaged.

The difficulty in writing and directing such a metaphorical, artful story such as this is that it becomes very easy to veer into pretentious and inaccessible territory.

There are times in She Will when this does happen, and the logical rules of the story and the feelings of the characters are often unclear. But thankfully, the film never stays in this territory for too long.

What keeps this tale investing is the quiet, mysterious performances, the odd yet entrancing visual effects/cinematography, and the satisfying pace at which the curtain is pulled back and the audience gets answers to their questions.

At times the metaphors are too heavy-handed to the point that it's a disservice to the characters, but most of the time it was refreshing to see subtle nuances in a movie like this that has a clear feminist message.

Certainly this isn't a film for everyone, but for those who like thought-provoking art, there's quite a bit of good to be found here.

I knew pretty much nothing about Charlotte Colbert's "She Will" when I started watching it, making it more interesting. This story of a faded actress who seeks treatment in a facility located on the former site of burning women accused of witchcraft has some intense scenes. The intensity is mostly found in the actress's disturbing memories. In that sense, I guess that the movie's saying that the worst horrors are the real ones.

While not anything great, this movie is more interesting than movies where people walk into rooms to get butchered. On top of that, it gives us some great shots of the Scottish countryside. Worth seeing for that, if nothing else.