The Woodmans (2010)
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94% of critics liked it
(18 reviews) -
77% of users liked it
(877 ratings)
Francesca Woodman's haunting B&W images, many of them nude self-portraits, now reside in the pantheon of great photography from the late 20th century. The daughter of artists Betty and Charles Woodman (she a ceramicist and he a painter/ photographer), Francesca was a precocious RISD graduate,… More Francesca Woodman's haunting B&W images, many of them nude self-portraits, now reside in the pantheon of great photography from the late 20th century. The daughter of artists Betty and Charles Woodman (she a ceramicist and he a painter/ photographer), Francesca was a precocious RISD graduate, who came to New York with the intention of setting the art world on fire. But in 1981, as a despondent 22-year-old, she committed suicide. THE WOODMANS beautifully interweaves the young artist's work (including experimental videos and diary passages) with interviews with the parents who have nurtured her professional reputation these past 30 years, while continuing to make art of their own in the face of tragedy. The film grapples with disturbing issues, among them: parent-child competition and the toxic level of ambition that fuels the New York art scene. Says Betty Woodman succinctly: "She's the famous artist and we're the famous artist's family." -- (C) Lorber
- Directed By
- C. Scott Willis
- Genres
- Documentary, Musical & Performing Arts, Special Interest
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Jan 19, 2011 Limited
- Studio
- Lorber Films
Critic Reviews
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Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle
It's impossible to listen to Francesca's parents, deadly serious about art as a higher calling, without feeling both saddened and disturbed.
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Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
The Woodmans tells the compelling, if slightly disturbing, story of a family coming to grips with love, ego, resentment and loss.
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V.A. Musetto, New York Post
Willis provides no easy answers and points no fingers, but the search proves fascinating.
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Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times
Woodman's black-and-white photographs, many of them self-portraits, convey a haunting sense of isolation; of something forever lost from the empty, almost decaying rooms in which she drapes herself.
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Sheri Linden, Hollywood Reporter
An indelible group portrait of a family of artists.
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