Darlin’ review: A young woman finds herself separated from her ferocious guardian in the latest film in The Woman series.
Image Courtesy of Fantasia Festival
Darlin’ is a stand-alone sequel to 2011’s The Woman. The film, like its own predecessor Offspring, was based on the novels of the late Jack Ketchum and starred Pollyanna McIntosh as a feral woman captured by a sadistic lawyer intent on training her to become a ‘proper’ woman. It ended with McIntosh’s woman reaping violent revenge on the man and his family before taking the youngest child, nicknamed Darlin’, with her back into the wilderness. Now the story shifts attention from woman to Darlin’, with McIntosh taking on both writing and directing duties in addition to reviving Woman for one more spin.
Set a number of years after The Woman, Darlin’ is now a teenage girl on the verge of womanhood. She has also regressed to the same feral state as Woman. After an altercation with an ambulance, Darlin’ finds herself separated from Woman and is soon found and bundled-off to an establishment run by the church. As Darlin’ slowly reconnects with the world she left behind, Woman desperately tries to get her back.
What sets Darlin’ apart from the other films within the series is that it’s a much more subdued affair. It is relatively tame in comparison to the other films in the series, that is until its bloody, vomit-laden finale. McIntosh doesn’t play the film for violence however, and in many respects, Darlin’ is more of a female coming-of-age tale grounded in the drama genre with elements of horror sprinkled on top to make it shine. It also has an element of the Pygmalion story as the Bishop (Bryan Batt) wants to transform Darlin’ into a model girl in a bid to gain extra financial gain. The main theme within the film though, is that of motherhood. There’s a strong female dynamic to the film with all signs pointing to motherhood. Even in the male characters, we get some sense of femininity. Cooper Andrews’ nurse Tony is almost maternal towards Darlin’ in the way that he cares for her.
If it wasn’t obvious from the title, Darlin’ is all about Darlin, Woman takes a backseat and gives newcomer Lauryn Canny time to shine. Canny does a beautiful job of transitioning from feral monster to refined lady, whilst managing to still convey the childish innocence of Darlin’. You have to remember she was still only very young when she was first taken away, and her mind has fixed at that stage in a lot of ways. Playing a child trapped in the body of a woman isn’t an easy task, but Canny pulls it off. McIntosh is once again great as Woman and proves why she is one lady you should not mess with.
A welcome change-up in The Woman series, with Darlin’ Pollyanna McIntosh crafts a thoughtful and surprisingly warm emotional tale of motherhood, with just the right amount of horror.
Darlin’ was reviewed at Fantasia 2019. It will next screen at Frightfest in August.
