A World of Ghosts

The Others succeeded in holding me spell bound as the mystery intensified. I did not succeed in figuring out what the director had hidden, until he revealed it.

The film is set in a lonely mansion on the Isle of Jersey, off the English coast. The year is 1945. You will want to pay close attention to every detail, from the year to the strange housekeeping rituals insisted upon by Grace, the head of the household. Nicole Kidman reminds me of the cool beauty of Grace Kelly as she is an oasis of calm in this troubled house.

Grace’s daughter Anne is played with a spunky charm by Alakina Mann, and the young brother Nicholas is played charmingly by James Bentley. Bentley expertly plays a distressed young boy whose face poignantly mirrors his fear. The fourth major character, Mrs. Mills, is played by Fionnula Flanagan. Mrs. Mills is the newly hired housekeeper, and Flanagan brings warmth and kindness to this character. She appears to be very protective of this vulnerable family. Grace’s husband is away at war, and she talks longingly of his return.

The suspense builds slowly and steadily. Grace has very peculiar rules, including locking each of the fifty doors when she or Mrs. Mills leave a room. Grace insists that her two children have a severe allergy to sunlight so the curtains are always closed. The sunlight allergy is so severe that Grace says that exposure to sunlight would cause the deaths of her children.

Anne soon insists she sees and talks to ghosts, some of them aggressive and telling her to get out of the house. The ghosts tell her that the house now belongs to them, and that her family must get out. Naturally Grace staunchly derides the idea of ghosts as absolute nonsense. Creepy things start to happen, and Mrs. Mills talks disturbingly of "the intruders".

I am being as vague as I can so you can watch this film and discover it for yourself.
My husband and I would rate this very highly, say a 9 on a 10 point scale.



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