In case you missed it… ‘Backwoods’

I’ve been a big fan of Gary Oldman for, Hell… a long time! So, when I found out about this little semi-foreign film that stars the talented Hollywood outsider, I had to rush out and see it. A few weeks later, and no closer to having seen the movie, I am told by a little birdie that Best Buy has the DVD on sale for $3.99 and I lept from the nearest tall building and soared through the air, landing clumsily on the doorstep of my neighborhood Best Buy store. What can I say, Movie Geeks are busy but resourceful people who can muster up the occasional superhuman ability when needed… like to get a really good deal on a DVD.

Now, off the tangent and back onto my original point. ‘Backwoods’ is a semi-foreign film by my standards because, even though it was made in Spain, only about half of the dialogue in is Spanish. Of course, I’m guesstimating. Did you really think I sat there and kept track? The story follows two English couples who head out into the remote woods of Spain to Paul’s (Gary Oldman) newly acquired old ramshackle cabin that used to belong to his grandmother. It quickly becomes clear that Paul is the only person who has any desire to be there as his wife Isabel (Aitana Sà ¡nchez-Gijà ³n) and their friendly couple Norman (Paddy Considine) and Lucy (Virginie Ledoyen) are anything but thrilled.

Before they can even get settled, Paul drags Norman out for a hunt. The two men trek for miles and only come across and kill one measly rabbit, but find something far more disturbing in the woods that instantly changes their little vacation into an effort to survive. What they find isn’t the disturbing part, but it’s the people who are trying to get back what Paul and Norman have found that create the tension in the movie and ultimately develop this tale of paranoia through a misunderstanding between two very different groups of people.

‘Backwoods’ was directed by Kolda Serra and is, for the most part, not a great movie. It does have it’s merits and it isn’t unwatchable, but the writing is a little flat and the story builds to an entirely unsatisfying end. The film’s one saving grace is it’s star Gary Oldman, who truly does (as always) deliver a fascinating performance and is a joy to watch as he fully embraces his craft. Paddy Considine is mostly annoying as a pessimistic and paranoid version of Ross from ‘Friends’ while the group of actors playing the Spanish backwoods family to a reasonably good job of being creepy but realistic.

Long story short, it’s not worth buying and you’re better off trying to catch it on cable than paying $3-5 for the rental. Now I totally get why Best Buy had the DVD on sale. ‘Backwoods’ is not very original, but if you’re a fan of Gary Oldman the price seems acceptable.

[Overall: 2.75 stars out of 5]