There is some romanticization of rural life in The Ones You Didn't Burn that give the overall film a lovely, peaceful vibe despite the story itself.
However, the two sisters who work the land are awkward, pushy and abrasive and it just doesn't compute as witchy seduction of the sister character, it's more like she's a teenager bullied into a clique. Not sure what the message is there, but if this film is meant up uplift the victims who were burned as witches it frankly takes a misogynistic turn in making adult women seem competitive and overbearing towards one another instead of supportive.
All of the men are addicts, and that doesn't make for a very convincing plot line in which the menfolk were evil. Addicts are annoying, they can be toxic, even dangerous or abusive, but men running around delusional and strung out isn't the same thing as toxic masculinity that is predatory or evil. While the Greg neighbor character is definitely a scumbag, the brother just seems mentally ill.
So does the dad.
What a mess.
However, the two sisters who work the land are awkward, pushy and abrasive and it just doesn't compute as witchy seduction of the sister character, it's more like she's a teenager bullied into a clique. Not sure what the message is there, but if this film is meant up uplift the victims who were burned as witches it frankly takes a misogynistic turn in making adult women seem competitive and overbearing towards one another instead of supportive.
All of the men are addicts, and that doesn't make for a very convincing plot line in which the menfolk were evil. Addicts are annoying, they can be toxic, even dangerous or abusive, but men running around delusional and strung out isn't the same thing as toxic masculinity that is predatory or evil. While the Greg neighbor character is definitely a scumbag, the brother just seems mentally ill.
So does the dad.
What a mess.
