Ollie (Tessa Thompson) and Deb (Lily James) are two sisters living in the same, small town in northern Montana. After their mother passes away, the bank that owns their childhood home informs them that they have one week to get the money to pay them back. Struggling with their own individual problems and money issues, the two resort to their old, bad habits to pay off what needs to be done. Nia DaCosta both wrote and directed this film and unfortunately, her handling of the story is what hurt this film the most. The subject matter of this movie sets up these characters to lead an almost modern version of a western, but too much time was placed on setting up this film's atmosphere. One of the most interesting aspects of this story was the dynamic between Ollie and Deb and how, regardless of the situation, they knew that they would always have each other's backs as sisters. They both had problems to deal with and the way that DaCosta handled their individual stories was fantastic. However, it was the balance between the two that was never really struck. Their shared motive throughout this film was supposed to be doing whatever it takes to pay back the bank, but that A-plot was often forgotten. Of course, subplots are an integral part of making a film have more depth, but the subplots in Little Woods took too much precedence. Deb's conflict with deciding whether or not to have an abortion and Ollie's conflict with falsely displaying a clean lifestyle to her parole officer took too much hold towards the end of this film. While the final shot makes this movie a clean, full-circle drama, the supposed main plot was never really resolved. I suppose the audience must assume that they were able to earn back their childhood home, but I wish the writing could have better connected those dots.
While DaCosta's direction was far too loose, her script did not seem very passionate either. I'm not sure if this movie was based on any real experiences from DaCosta herself, but there just did not seem to be a goal in mind when she was writing this film. I adore the story and the potential that it had to be a riveting sibling drama, but that was never reached for. It seems like nothing was really reached for, but I'm glad this movie was still relatively effective. The dialogue was also very stale throughout the film and seemed to be pieced together by a typical, dramatic writer. I suppose my main issue with this movie is not what was presented to the audience, but rather what could have been. Thankfully, however generic the dialogue might have been, the performances from Thompson and James are what absolutely bring this film together. They truly made the best of what they were given and embody every scene that they share together. When the two of them are on screen together is when this film's subtle yet amazing qualities come to the surface. I would have never predicted that the two of them could play such compatible sisters, but their embodiment of these characters' predicaments was utterly captivating. I also don't think that either of their performances were exactly award-worthy, but their chemistry as sisters elevated this movie far beyond being a throw-away, indie film.
Thank the casting director of Little Woods for being able to bring Thompson and James together or else this film might not have been as intriguing as it was. This movie has an unlimited amount of potential to carry more emotional weight, but DaCosta's script was unable to really tap into that. Nevertheless, I still very much enjoyed this film and the effort put into this story, as it is brilliantly performed by these two leads.
My Rating: ★★★½
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