Into the Forest

We wanted to like this film. But we could not. It failed us. The premise is interesting and the acting starts off pretty solid and believable. The characters talk and act in ways that you can believe at the outset and you are drawn in by the mysterious direction of the plot. Then, something happens and the characters just keep plugging away as if nothing is wrong. There are so many outrageous inconsistencies and plot holes that you can't keep up. Without giving away the plot, I will just say that they go from one extreme to the other and the characters do not react as any person ever would. The story continues with more absurdity and tragedy. The characters continue to do mindless and illogical things. At this point, we lose interest in the story and follow along with half interest just to see where it ends. It can be said that there is some very good acting in this film. But the writing and direction drag this into two big thumbs down. Bizarre does not mean good. Sorry.

This realistic end-of-the-world story unfolds as it likely really would. Ellen Page and Evan Rachel Wood play sisters living with their widowed father in the forest when an unexplained power outage occurs that leads to a breakdown in civil order. There are rumors as to what happened or how widespread it is, but it's never fully explained and that is not the focus of the film. The story instead focuses on Page and Woods' characters and how they face the many challenges of living in this new world, which includes grocery store clerks now carrying shotguns, rationing gasoline, and an increasing wariness of people who used to be friends and neighbors (or even relatives). I don't want to spoil any plot points, but what unfolds is what would likely really happen. You'd have to contend with a world without lights, internet, or music. You'd no longer know what's happening outside your village. You'd have to get used to the idea that the world is forever changed and is not going back to how things were before. In many ways, this film felt like the 1983 film "The Testament," which depicted a typical family after a nuclear warhead fell on the United States. Completely unsensational but the ordinariness of the characters and situations make the film far more identifiable of an experience when compared to "Mad Max" or "A Boy and His Dog," and consequently more impactful. However, on the downside, the ordinariness of the film also leads to some slow pacing and not always compelling of situations. Still, within the context of this film, it does work and is what makes this end-of-the-world story unique and all the more engaging. FUN FACT! The pig butchering scene was real. Ellen Page learned the process specifically to include in this film.

Without getting into all of the other hot topics that this film engenders, as an Alaskan I can say that from a purely survival aspect they wouldn't make it a winter. And in fact if this was supposed to be anywhere in Canada where was winter? It always seemed green. There are few berries in winter. Unless they lived in a fairly substantial house they would freeze to death. And there is very little food apart from hunting in the winter. And they certainly did not learn enough to survive simply from books. They would run out of ammo soon. They showed no skill at creating tools or salvaging them. And certainly none at basic house repair. In fact I would say they were just about the unhandiest women I've seen in the woods. Essentially this was just an emotionally acted fantasy without much basis in the real world. Kind of a shame. I had hoped for more.

This movie has some really convincing performances. Ellen Page is great, the depth of her emotions are intense and believable. Evan Rachel Wood is also really good, she does her sensitive character a lot of justice and portrays a vividly brutal scene with real honesty. This movie is unsettling because it is all too possible. What happens when we are suddenly left without power is shocking - we are plunged into a lawless past, with no protection. This movie really conveys that well, and at the same time explores the theme of what it means to be a family. I was moved to tears several times. The forest setting is lush and beautiful. The direction was good - the pace was tense and believable, the only slow part I didn't care for were some of the love scenes in the beginning, and the dance scenes were pretty dispensable, but all in all I really liked it!

I feel like the premise for this called for a truly visionary, unique tale. It was definitely compelling and mostly well-done, although its effect mostly comes from its acting. The screenplay needed some more work to more readily establish its main goals. Evan Rachel Wood and Ellen Page are strong in their roles and do more work to fill in the gaps in their characters' writing and development. The music is sometimes a little over-the-top, and the film tries too hard to move you at certain times (and instead of being effective comes across kind of awkwardly). Still, this is a mostly entertaining, mostly well told, even if it could have been truly great, film.