Good Movie - worth seeing

Rating: 7/10 (24 February 2016)

This movie is very well made, with some great performances - notably Kate Dickie as the wife/mother. She is very fitting to this role as was the male lead.
What I loved: Its portrayal of the 1600's puritanical thinking; strong ties to religion and therefore the devil, willingness to see the devil in anything that went wrong. The desperation of trying to hold on to your family and way of life. The performances of the actors were tremendous and very believable. The mother/ daughter relationship was well done - the daughter looking for her mother's acceptance and approval, the Mother always at odds with her. The younger siblings that were as annoying as today's younger siblings. The bond between the siblings. The setting, so lonely and isolated. The animal scenes, i don't want to spoil anything so i won't say more. The building desperation over grief, fear, threat of starvation. The ending - loved this. The twins were creepy! And I loved that I had no idea if there really was a witch, and if there was, who was it.
What I didn't like: What season was it in New England that there are no leaves on the trees yet the weather seemed temperate? I'm thinking November, but they must have been some really hardy people. They never once seemed cold or were tending a fire. Whereas a movie like The Revenant literally made me feel cold throughout, this one seemed to be filmed during an Indian Summer. The music - I liked parts, but hated how the music would rise and get louder only to simply end in literally nothing significant. It would simply change to a black screen and then a new setting. While the music was exotic, it failed to match the tempo of the scenes. The dialogue was hard to hear and at time I could not make out what was being said because of both the accent and the old style language.
I would definitely recommend seeing this movie - but I do think that it could wait until it is available on demand.