Above Average Ghost Story
Written: Oct 31 '01
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Good, old fashioned ghost story; very well-acted
Cons: Too slow-paced in some parts.
The Bottom Line: Above-average ghost story that is worth seeing, unless you're looking for lots of action and blood & guts.
|
|
|
| mmenke0226's Full Review: |
The Others is, for the most part, a well-crafted and executed tale of the supernatural, but if you're looking for a fast-paced fear-fest, you'll need to look elsewhere. The spine-tingling, hands-over-your-eyes occurrences were too far and far between. Although I liked the film and would recommend it to fans of the genre, it would have been even better if some of the overly long scenes had been shortened, if not cut altogether. I found myself wishing that SOMETHING would happen far more often than a really good scary movie would allow.
Much has been said about the Sixth-Sense-type twist in The Others, so much so that I found myself focusing on that aspect rather than merely appreciating the movie for itself. I figured the twist out about halfway through, but any experienced fan of mysteries or the occult who is worth his salt should be able to figure it out much sooner. 'Nuff said.
Nicole Kidman as Grace is the mother of two photosensitive children (Nicholas, played by James Bentley, and Ann, portrayed by Alakina Mann - and boy, is that little girl spooky!). The year is 1947 and they are living alone in a mansion off the coast of Great Britain, having been suddenly and mysteriously deserted by their staff of servants. The children's father has supposedly been killed in the war, although they don't know that for sure. The family is soon joined by three new servants: Fionnula Flanagan as Mrs. Mills, the nanny; Elaine Cassidy as Lydia, the young, mute housekeeper; and Eric Sykes as Mr. Tuttle, the gardener. Mrs. Mills explains that the three of them worked for the previous owners several years ago. One gets the feeling that there's more to the story.
Mann and Bentley are both superb in their roles as the pale, sickly children, but the role of Ann has more layers. She is the more willful and outspoken of the two, hinting to Mrs. Mills about the time their mother "went mad." She also takes the brunt of the punishment dealt by their fanatically religious mother, who demands that Ann read aloud from the Bible until she admits she lied about seeing and talking to a strange boy in the house. It's these scenes that evoke the most compassion as well as confusion; we're never quite sure who is the perpetrator and who is the victim.
I admit I sometimes found it difficult to sympathize with either Grace or Ann. Grace is cold and unfeeling, undoubtedly the result of depression. About the only thing she can offer her children is to make sure the drapes in every room are tightly drawn before they are allowed to enter, and the admonition that they cling tightly to their rosaries to protect them from whatever evil lurks in the house. And Ann's stubbornness as well as her obvious delight in scaring her mother and brother made me want to shake her!
As in all scary movies, there is the obligatory unexplainable phenomenon: doors that open and close on their own, voices and sounds of furniture moving in empty rooms, drapes suddenly removed from windows. Much of the evidence points to Grace as being the mentally unstable one...but is she? And if she is indeed crazy, is she the only one?
The fog-shrouded mansion and countryside are the perfect setting for this old-fashioned ghost tale that relies on the viewer's imagination as much as on what actually happens on-screen. You won't see any violence or blood and guts in The Others, but the hairs on your neck might just stand up anyway...if you're patient enough.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
mmenke0226
|
|
Location: St. Louis, MO
Reviews written: 11
Trusted by: 4 members
About Me:
Life-long St.Louis resident. Married, 4 grown sons, 4 grandkids. Freelance writer.
|
|
|
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.