- Actors: Kirsten Dunst, Pilou Asbaek, Joe Cole, Jack Kilmer
- Directors: Kate Mulleavy, Laura Mulleavy
- Disc Format: AC-3, DTS Surround Sound, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
- Language: English
- Subtitles: Spanish
- Region: Region A/1
- Number of discs: 1
- Rated: R
- Studio: LIONSGATE
- Release Date: November 28, 2017
- Run Time: 100 minutes
Art films often
take a special type of viewer, one willing analyze and dissect what they are
watching. These films can take effort and thoughtfulness to understand, whereas
most mainstream films are treated as entertainment that merely needs to be
consumed. If someone unfamiliar with art films tried to watch one, they might
find themselves confused and frustrated. But in the case of Woodshock, it feels like a film that was
made by filmmakers attempting to imitate and art film without understanding the
intent behind any choices. In other words, it is a shell of pretentiousness
visuals that is completely empty on the inside. Thinking about this film is an
act of fruitless futility.
This atrociously
self-serious wannabe art film is the feature-film debut of sisters Kate and
Laura Mulleavy, two trendy clothing designers who attempt to replace talent and
experience with ego and inexplicable costume changes. Perhaps there is meaning
somewhere buried in this film, but nothing the fashion sisters are trying to
say is anywhere near worth enduring their ostentatious film. Most of the movie
simply feels like a poor attempt to imitate the success of Tom Ford, with wispy
images doing all of the work to carry out a vague narrative. But the visuals
aren’t as strong, the characters aren’t developed enough to be interesting, and
the narrative bounces back and forth between predictable and nonsensical.
The actual
storyline centers on a young woman named Theresa (Kirsten Dunst) who is
grieving from the loss of her mother while drifting through life as though it
were a dream or an extended drug trip. As she also works at a medical marijuana
co-op, drugs do play into the narrative, though the psychedelic visuals imply
far heavier drugs than the ones shown in the film. Drugs aren’t fun or
enjoyable in Woodshock, and the
marijuana smoked in this movie is mostly used as a vehicle for a stronger drug
that Theresa uses to help put those suffering out of their misery.
It may sound
like something of a spoiler to tell you that Woodshock is ultimately about assisted suicide, but in actuality it
has very little to say about the topic. Even though the reveal that Theresa is
doing this doesn’t come until later in the film, there are hints early on that
she may have had something to do with her mother’s death. When Theresa attempts
to provide this service for one of the suffering clients of the co-op, she
makes a mistake that might have served as an inciting incident, but it mostly
just leads to more scenes of characters looking thoughtfully into the distance
without ever saying anything of relevance. This is a film with too many ideas,
none of which are fully developed or treated properly.
The end result
is a collection of scenes that feel disconnected, almost as if made for a demo
reel rather than to tell a story. It feels like a film that was made so that
the filmmakers could pat themselves on the back for being so artistic, even
though there is no substance or significance beyond the prettiness of the
visuals and an assortment of lingerie that they have Dunst wear as she wanders
through the woods of Northern California. The
Mulleavy’s insisted that Dunst lose weight to play the thinly developed role of
Theresa, seemingly giving their lead actress the same consideration and
character development that they would a model walking down the runway in their
clothes. All that matters is the external, making this one of the most
superficial art films I have ever seen. There is no intelligence or depth for
the art house crowd in Woodshock, but
there is also no entertainment or escapism for mainstream audiences, leaving me
to believe that this film was merely made to stroke the self importance of the
filmmakers who created it.
The Blu-ray release
comes with a Digital HD copy of the film. Special features on the disc only
include a 13-minute making-of featurette, with interviews from cast and crew.
If you don’t already think the film is pretentious, listen to the filmmakers
talk about it. The high definition presentation of the film may impress some
because of the emphasis on superimposed photography rather than an actual
narrative, but it is simply a better polish for the turd.
Entertainment Value:
0/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 2.5/10
Historical
Significance: 1/10
Special Features: 2/10
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