Little Woods is a story about two sisters who are trying to escape the enormous gravity pull of poverty, but the deck seems stacked against them. Will Ollie, played by Tessa Thompson, be able to make life better for her sister before finally living her own life?
Tessa Thompson has been a supporting actor in everything, and I enjoy her performances every time: Creed, Thor: Ragnarok and Sorry to Bother You. I don’t think that I’ve seen her as the lead in any film since Dear White People so I planned to see Little Woods no matter what that movie was about. Nia DaCosta, a black woman, also directed it so I wanted to support it by seeing it in the theater. I’m not familiar with her work, but am looking forward to seeing her “spiritual” sequel of Candyman, which will be written by Jordan Peele and is slated to be released in 2020. Yes, please!
I liked Little Woods, but it felt like a mash up between Tess of the D’Ubervilles and a socioeconomic allegory for the state of women as the underclass in the United States with a more subtle comment on race relations, specifically the role of black women as the backbone for survival of the nation. I also felt as if there was a bait and switch from the trailer, not the print promotional material when I look at it closer with the power of hindsight, and Lilly James, who plays Deb, Ollie’s sister, was a co-star, not a supporting actor. There is nothing wrong with that because James, whom I forgot appeared in Darkest Hour, Sorry to Bother You and Baby Driver so she is a chameleon, does a great job, and they are credible as sisters. I didn’t need any explanation about how they were related though one is casually provided. The entire cast is perfect.
The main reason that I wasn’t swept away by the story was one scene, which is shown in the trailers so I don’t consider it a spoiler per se, is when Deb discovers the cost of pregnancy. She already has a child—shouldn’t she know? It felt as if it was for the viewers’ benefit so we would empathize with her and her decisions. You had me at single mother in a trailer with Chekhov’s towing notice. It signaled to me that Little Woods was less a character study and more a call to outrage and action against a failed system, especially the health care industry. Again there is nothing wrong with having the call to action be the driving force of the movie, not the characters, especially when the characters are still so organic, realistic and sympathetic, even the menacing drug dealer who gets humanized so much near the end of the movie that I thought, “Maybe he should watch Deb’s kid.” I just wish that it wasn’t so obvious that it occurred to me while watching the movie instead of after.
The scene that hammered home this thought was when the two sisters walk across a field, and there is a complete shift in the tone of Little Woods. It is such a naked comparing and contrasting of the sisters’ fortunes with the alteration of one random facet of their existence, which they both share. I’ll never forget when someone said that all art usually depicts one of the following: Eden, Heaven, Hell or The Fall. It is all about location, location, location. There is our imagination of the West, what it once was versus what it is now. We get glimpses of its grandeur, but it is eclipsed underneath the ugliness and necessities of modern life. There is an agrarian heart beating under this film that yearns for a simpler time, a return to when there wasn’t a layer of bureaucracy between you and life.
Little Woods ends on an ambiguous note, which hinges on this turning point. I didn’t mind the ambiguity, but if you despise those types of endings, then avoid this film. It worked for me because if we got a happy ending, it would feel like a cop out, but an unhappy one would feel like a kick in the teeth, no matter how realistic because we have been rooting for these characters.
For those of you unfamiliar with this particular region, North Dakota, I would highly recommend that you pair Little Woods with The Overnighters, an amazing documentary that will provide you with a little context regarding why there are so many more men than women, why everything is so expensive, particularly housing, which is in short supply. You don’t need this background to understand the movie, but I think that it helps because I wouldn’t be surprised if people were mildly confused by Deb’s ex’s living situation. The little diner scene provides a brief explanation, but it is a blink and you’ll miss it scenario.
My only real criticism of Little Woods is that it can be a little predictable, and characters do spectacularly dumb things that don’t make sense unless you want a reason to get to the ending or heighten an already tense situation. I don’t mean stupid, but credible things that people do. I mean spectacularly unrealistic moments if you’re used to working in the gray areas. To detail them all would spoil the movie. I read that this movie was originally a reimagining of Othello, but I just don’t see it. I would need someone to sit me down and explain it because I just don’t see it.
I have no idea if I’m projecting on to Lance Reddick’s performance as Ollie’s probation officer, but I felt as if his character, Carter, thought Ollie needed a break not only because in different contexts, she would be successful, but because it is already a rough start not to have your biological family, but she got adopted into a (poor, white) family then ended up taking care of the whole crew. Who adopted whom? She didn’t even get a choice in the matter. Without knowing why her mother gave her up for adoption, I couldn’t help wondering if she ended up in a worst situation. Plus because she is black, she sticks out and does not have anyone to commiserate with. He can’t explicitly because he has to be professional, and they are not equals. He has to keep some distance and do his job, which means possibly having to ruin her life. Little Woods is devoid of actual political discourse, but can you imagine Ollie’s 2016!
The performances in Little Woods are so good that even a random receptionist without saying a word makes her small moments shine, and your imagination is off to the races filling in what isn’t being said, the character’s motivation for their action, etc. It is a solid movie, which I highly recommend, but the pile on of problems coinciding with a countdown clock is too common a trope not to throw a little skeptical look in their direction.