Mucking With Movies: ‘The Woman In The Yard’

I was supposed to go see “A Minecraft Movie,” but because of a date running late, I ended up with “The Woman In The Yard,” which has been out for quite some time now and will likely be on streaming before I can finish writing this sentence. It ended up being for the best; if I had not seen “The Woman In The Yard” in theaters, I would have been disappointed. Movies like it are why I go to the theaters as often as I do. I never know when I’m going to be surprised by that one flick I don’t have high hopes for. 

If you didn’t like “The Woman In The Yard,” which my date didn’t, it at least gave you plenty to talk about. It had depth despite not being deft with its touch, singling out the path it wanted to take and aggressively drilling downwards toward it.

Me? I loved the first hour and 15 minutes of its hour-and-a-half run time. The last 15 minutes, though, sees the film fall apart both creatively and thematically. 

Playing the role of worn-out, end-of-her-rope widow Ramona, Danielle Deadwyler continues to be the best part of everything she is in. After being dazzlingly cool in “The Harder They Fall” and bringing a quiet creepiness in “I Saw The TV Glow,” director Jaume Collet-Serra makes her the main entree in “The Woman In The Yard.” Collet-Serra is incredibly patient in his pacing, electing to train the camera on Deadwyler during long conversations between her and her children, Annie (Estella Kahiha) and Taylor (Peyton Jackson). Deadwyler has that perfect actor face, seemingly tailored to carry emotions on its outside. Even when she is at rest, she projects through the eyes and through the resigning slump that permeates her posture. 

The film’s opening 5 minutes or so are done without almost any talking. During that long stretch, Deadwyler carries the film’s energy and the audience’s attention, crutching around, taking pills, and opening boxes with only one- or two-word phrases to work with. When the film eventually turns to concentrate on her relationship with her son Taylor, Jackson doesn’t give her much to work with, leaving Deadwyler and Collet-Serra to work around him to put together a competent film. 

While the entirety is gorgeously framed, one shot in the film demands a solo highlight. Collet-Serra and director of photography Pawel Pogorzelski, who has made hits out of almost every film he has been the director of photography on since “Midsommar,” are capable of constructing fear out of the mundane. As mentioned, Romona has a bum knee from the catalytical car accident. When she is tasked to make it down the stairs, we are gifted with this intimidating view, overlooking from the top step. It correctly conveys that the simple task is a herculean endeavor, and we feel deeply for Romona. 

That’s not even the shot I wanted to shout out, though! I just found it important to contextualize my overall impression. The one I went gaga over was the wide between Romana and the titular Woman in the Yard. They stand on either side of the frame, with short grass in the forefront and a deep depth of field stretching all the way to the mountains in the far background. Too often, we anoint any landscape shots as beautiful because the land the camera is capturing is beautiful, but here it actually makes use of all the space. The thought was put into the frame, not just into the camera work. 

There’s an old adage in professional wrestling: “All anyone will remember is the finish.” While I was thrilled with the first three-quarters or so, the ending left a sour taste in my mouth. While keeping you on edge, the twist’s payoff left more questions than answers.

On its face, “The Woman In the Yard” is a supernatural thriller, but the film’s explanation renders the poltergeist angle a confusing moot. If they had committed to a “Sinister”-like disturbing ending, it would have clicked all the mythology the story had spun into place. Emotion powerful enough to manifest into something evil and capable of creating tangible damage makes sense from a conceptual standpoint, but the ending suggests that there never was a monster and hints at the worst ending anybody could ever give their story: That perhaps it was all a dream. 

I’m happy I saw “The Woman In The Yard.” I just wish it was so much better. The potential was there, though, and sometimes that is enough. 

Critic Score 6.6 out of 10

Jack Simon is a mogul coach and writer/director who enjoys eating food he can’t afford, traveling to places out of his budget, and creating art about skiing, eating, and traveling while broke. Check out his website jacksimonmakes.com to see his Jack’s Jitney travelogue series. You can email him at jackdocsimon@gmail.com for inquiries of any type.