|
THE OTHERS
Note: Spoilers
I have not yet seen the trailer for this movie, but I will do so later and
talk about that towards the end of the review. Originally titled The
Darkness, The Others is written & directed by Alejandro
Amenbar and produced by Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner, among others. The
Others is a supernatural story featuring ghosts (no, not the ones in
white sheets). It takes place in a quiet and abandoned farmland during the
mid-1940s with WW2 still in progress. Mainly, however, the movie focuses
on a mansion big enough to house five families altogether. But it's not
like that because only three people live in it: Grace (Nicole Kidman) and
her two children, Anne (Alakina Mann) and Nicholas (James Bentley). One
day, three (mysterious?!) people arrive at the mansion to volunteer as
servants (to take care of the house). They are Mrs. Mills (Fionalla
Flanagan), Mr. Tuttle (Eric Sykes), and Lydia (Elaine Cassidy). Everybody
gets along well, until strange things start to happen. This
is the type of movie where you have to think after seeing it. You have to
talk to your friends about it, discuss it, and then you might actually get
to the point where you can appreciate it a little more. I found out so
much more things that I initially missed when I discussed this movie with
my friends. Because, in the end, you have to think back and realize things
aren't what they seemed. It works to an extent, because The Sixth Sense
already had us do this. Like the other reviewer said, comparisons between Sense
and Others are inevitable. I dare spoil any plot details, but just
think the main theme of Sense and you have a pretty good view of
what The Others is like. The story and supernatural elements in
this movie are not the same as in Sense. They are stronger and more
fictitious. Back
to the plot, the strange happenings are doors closing by themselves, a
piano playing by itself, children muttering, stomping noises, etc. Grace
begins to go crazy, not knowing what to do. Both Grace and the audience
are clueless about what exactly is causing the strange happenings. It
builds the suspense, which is sustained until the very end. The major
problem with The Others is that all the good things (suspense,
acting, and story) suffer because of the painfully slow pace. It takes too
long to go from exposition to the actual point of the story, which is to
scare, thrill, surprise, create suspense, excite, confuse, question judgment,
slow down, be predictable or unbelievable, etc. (all taken right off the
questionnaire). By
all means, The Others is not a bad movie. At times, however, it's
really dark and isolated (everything takes place in the mansion). Speaking
of isolation, there is a great scene (the best, actually) that involves
Grace walking through a foggy forest. The fog engulfs the entire forest,
making it impossible to see anything but your own hand. No music is used,
just the atmosphere of the isolated forest. If you pay attention, you'll
catch some clues (the curtains, Anne and Nicholas's disease towards light;
just to name a few) that could explain or hint at what is happening inside
the mansion . They're not easy to spot, so consult your friend(s)
afterwards. This movie can definitely be improved. If some unnecessary
scenes are removed (the studying scenes, for example), the pace could be
tightened. The
musical score here is a key element towards making it suspenseful. You
would think it's some Hollywood big-shot, no, it's actually Alejando
Amenbar himself! Adding to this is Javier Aguirresarobe's camera
movements. There is nothing wrong with The Others in terms of
technicality or style, just the flow of the movie itself (but I've
mentioned that to you already). I
just checked out the trailer for this movie. I had the chance to see it
before going to the actual screening, but somehow I felt it would give
away surprises and plot points. And I was right! It did, in some ways. The
servants move in and weird things start to happen, Mrs. Mills knows more
than you think, Anne sees a boy called Victor (you never see them
interact, but in the end there is a boy named Victor) etc. Well, if you
consider the trailer for Sixth Sense, it too gave away an important
fact, "I see dead people." I think the trailer for The Others
is pretty good, but also feels a bit cheesy ("sometimes the world of
the dead gets mixed up with the world of the living"). This line
works in the movie (because you're accustomed to the tone), but in the
trailer it sounds too clichéd. Nevertheless, the trailer did the movie
justice. The
surprise ending here is all about perspective. It's all I can say to give
you a hint of what it might be. However, don't go into the movie and try
to figure it out yourself, because it's going to turn on you! With that
said, The Others is a good movie that mainly needs improvement in
the "pace" department. I'll see it again when it comes out so I
can catch some of the clues I missed (and thanks to my friends I liked
this movie more than before).
-- Dabbler In The Arts.
TOP
|
