The concept for 'A Lonely Woman' is an interesting one, perhaps not original but enough to make me interested in seeing it with absolutely no bias. Films that don't have a high budget are not always bad, there are quite a lot that do try and try to overcome any short-comings. Too many though are not just cheaply made but show little effort elsewhere, some of them with decent concepts so there was a little nervousness before watching this film. Having seen far too many potential wastes.
Sadly, 'A Lonely Woman' is yet another potential waste, there is not much effort here (though it is not one of the worst ever cases, not even close) and nothing is done really with the concept. Was just too distracted throughout by the cheapness of the production, how amateurishly written and acted it was, how dull and muddled it was and the many annoyances the film has. Have seen far worse films and 'A Lonely Woman' is not quite irredeemable, but almost everything regrettably falls completely flat on the face.
What stopped me from giving 'A Lonely Woman' a 1 was the car which was very cool and the serviceable performances of the adoptive parents.
Elsewhere, 'A Lonely Woman' is a mess. The female lead, Youlika Skafida, does not convince at all. Either as a shy girl or the much darker personality when seeking vengeance, in the early stages of the film she is completely bland and looks uncomfortable, and later on there is nowhere near the right amount of intensity or menace. The shift between the two personalities is a sudden and rushed one, meant to be slow but is not gradual enough, and gives a too much of a completely different film vibe. Her development is barely existent and her back-story superficial at best. She shares no real chemistry with Beau Yotty, who also is severely lacking in presence. The acting on the most part is like bad improvisation.
None of the characters are interesting or worth investing in and the dialogue never flows and sounds like gibberish. The story has no tension, suspense or thrills, and is not just deadly dull but it is also very muddled and kitchen-sink-like, like it wasn't sure what it wanted to be. Any attempts at twists and turns, too few, have no surprise at all. The visuals are utter chaos, especially the photography, enough to make one physically sick, and the repetitive drone that passed as music really gets on the nerves fast, with far too sparse and gratuitous when used use of sound effects.
Overall, a mess. 2/10
