The time is 1945 on one of the Jersey islands off the coast
of England .
Even though the war has just ended and the German occupation of the island is
over, Grace Stewart (Nicole Kidman) is in a very bad situation. Only a week
before all of the household servants deserted overnight leaving Grace and her
two children, Anna (Alakina Mann) and Nicholas (James Bentley), alone in their
sprawling mansion. The children have a rare disease that causes extreme
sensitivity to bright light and makes it impossible for them to venture outside
their home. Complicating matters is the sad fact that her soldier husband is
overdue in returning from Europe and the
children are now asking when daddy will come home now that the war is finally
over. Her one bit of good fortune is that, supposedly in response to Grace's
newspaper ad, three new servants have arrived and immediately start helping her
handle the house. She explains her son and daughter's medical problem and over
the next few days begins to unburden herself to the cook, Ms. Mills (Fionnula
Flanagan). At the same time, Anna starts talking about the strange people she
has been seeing around the house, describing them in great detail. She thinks
they might be ghosts, but they don't have the required white sheets and clanking
chains. Grace believes Anna is simply trying to scare her younger brother with
spooky stories, but soon she too is hearing and seeing things in the house that
she can't understand. As she begins to fear for her children's lives, it
becomes apparent that something supernatural is happening — and the danger
is real.
The Others was the English language debut of Spanish
filmmaker Alejandro Amenábar and it is fantastic. As this was only his third
full-length feature it's amazing to find such a sure and steady hand behind the
camera. As writer, director and music composer of the film, Amenábar can take
the lion's share of credit for what is surely one of the best cinematic ghost
stories since The Haunting (1963). Quiet and atmospheric, spooky and
hypnotic, beautiful and unnerving, The Others effortlessly does what
so many films try to do — draw you in, then actually scare you. Building upon
the standard ghost tale setting of an old dark house with dozens of rooms, here
it's necessary to keep all of the doors closed and locked to contain the
sunlight that could kill the children. This means the huge house is kept in
perpetual darkness giving shadows dominion over every corner and hallway. When
Anna starts talking about the young boy she has seen in her room it's easy to
think that he might be hiding there, just out of reach of the lamplight. The
suspense of the story is very well paced, giving just enough information to
hook the viewer while keeping things carefully vague and foreboding. The movie
slowly builds tension as Grace begins to doubt her sanity, eventually rushing
around the house with a shotgun trying desperately to find the intruders she
can hear but not see.
Special mention should be made of the brilliant performances
from the entire cast. Ms. Kidman is in nearly every scene of the film and is
perfect as this strong but fragile woman doing her best to keep herself and her
family safe. She has so many standout scenes that I hesitate to pick one, but
when she's trying to answer Anna's sharp questions about where people in wars
go when they die, Kidman shows a level of acting not many can reach. I still
believe this (not Moulin Rouge!) is the film for which she should have
been Oscar-nominated. Fionnula Flanagan is just as good as Ms. Mills. With a
few sympathetic glances she communicates volumes about what she knows about the
house, but won't tell. Alakina Mann as Anna is also superb, in a very difficult
role and its a shame she has only done one other film since this one.
Alejandro Amenábar is a very talented filmmaker. His first
two films, Open Your Eyes (remade as the Tom Cruise
vehicle Vanilla Sky) and Thesis showed great ability and an
affinity for horror thrillers. The Others shows that his success in Spain can carry
over to the rest of the world easily. Sadly, since making this hit, he has only
directed two more movies and I have seen only one of those- AGORA (2009) -
which was brilliant. I would hope for more from this man and soon.
2 comments:
The Others reminded me very much of The Innocents or Turn of the Screw. What do you think?
The Innocents was an obvious influence on The Others. Indeed, there are some scenes that are like color recreations of that earlier film's eerie darkness.
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