Ironically, the director's desire to tell a story about problems relating to communication breakdowns between married couples, social classes, and societies goes a step beyond his intentions by showing us a finished product that, in all likelihood, is problematic precisely because it was financed by so many production companies from different countries. That this should be a forced polyglot production dovetails perfectly with the director's intentions regarding communication issues creating confrontation. It gives you a British actor speaking in Spanish and a French actress speaking in English, and so on. Sometimes it works to create the intended confrontation between its characters. Sometimes it simply adds to a confrontation with its audience, who may have just cause, at times, to feel a bit exasperated by these dynamics.
Speaking of translations, I prefer the original Spanish title to this film; Bosque de sombras (Forest of Shadows) - it has poetic nuance. "The Backwoods" is a generic title, and I find it telling that another film already exists by the name of Backwoods (1987) that IMDB lists as having a plot in which "A hillbilly father and his idiot son terrorize and murder campers." The latter is clearly deserving of its generic name, but Serra's vision deserves better. His opening credit sequence begins with a rifle in the backseat, and this is intercut with black-and-white freeze-frames as two cars drive along a scenic coast. In the second car is a squabbling couple and they are listening to a Leonard Cohen song on the radio whose opening lines are "There is a war, between the rich and poor, there is a war between a man and a woman..."
In just a few opening seconds we can see that Serra is clearly striving for something far more ambitious than a low-grade hillbilly murder story. And Leonard Cohen? He's eternally hip. Like Lou Reed. How can you go wrong? The director also gets points for making Cohen's song something we (the audience) hear because it's organic to the film (it's on because the characters are listening to it on the radio). But using song lyrics that spell-out the plot points of the film? Ugh. This is a tired Hollywood device that's been done to death and is past the point of cliché. So there you have, contained in this opening sequence alone, a sense of both potential and disappointment. These two feelings are also conveyed by the squabbling couple themselves, Norman (Paddy Considine) and Lucy (Virginie Ledoyen). Considine (last seen in The Bourne Ultimatum and Hot Fuzz) is clearly going to be given a role with some inner conflict to play out. But Ledoyen, a French actress with a thick accent whose English is sometimes hard to understand, is doomed to making a string of complaints that will not make her character very endearing.
Thank God the leading car is driven by Gary Oldman! As they both drive into a small town for a pit stop we see Paul (Oldman) emerge and tap on Lucy's car window, smack his lips, show us big seventies glasses and moustache to match, slap the door with a bit of vim, make a gesture with his hand for wanting a quick drink, and show such general comfort and command of his place in front of the camera as to remind one that, whatever shortfalls are in store, at least a pro is on board. We also get to hear him speak some passable Spanish with the locals. Lluis Homar, who plays Paco the leader of the clan that will soon be at odds with the unwelcome tourists, deserves special mention as another seasoned veteran (he's been an actor for over 25 years and worked with the likes of Pedro Almodavar and Woody Allen). Alas, the same cannot be said for Paco's co-horts, who feel like caricatures rather than characters but, in their defense, there's only so much you can do when saddled with the role of a horny hillbilly.
So how does it play out? The director's intentions are to up the ante until "the survival instinct emerges," to use "the visual code of the western," and to show primal human behavior contrasted against a beautiful backdrop. On these fronts he succeeds. It's just that a lot of other elements have been added and, while some of these may work on their own, their contributions dilute the finished product. Put another way; it's a decent stew, but one compromised by too many cooks in the kitchen. It'll be good food for many, but somewhat lacking for those with discerning tastes.
The Backwoods DVD is released in the U.S. by Lionsgate on a widescreen 2.35:1 format with 5.1 and 2.0 Dolby Digital Audio with English and Spanish subtitles.
For more information about The Backwoods, visit Lionsgate. To order The Backwoods, go to TCM Shopping
by Pablo Kjolseth
