Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
Wow. They’re testing this one early. Let’s see what our guest reviewer thinks, eh?
Hey Moriarty,
I guess Harry must have missed my review that I sent in on Thursday, which is understandable with the avalanche of stuff you guys have been getting recently. Here's the review, as far as I can remember what I put originally:
Tonight I was given the chance to be a part of a very early screening for the latest film penned by THE RING author Ehren Kruger, and helmed by Iain Softley, who also directed K-PAX, called THE SKELETON KEY. We got the usual speech about "we're the first audience to see this film" and "there are still some shots not complete". But they also added the caveat that this was the version the producers wanted to show when the film opens next summer. So, speech over, and let the film begin.
This film was a very original ghost/haunted house story, set in the back-swamp area outside of New Orleans, LA. There are a lot of good things that I found quite enjoyable, and conversely there were some horrible things that need to be either cut or re-shot. But there is definately a nice surprise ending that will shock a lot of audiences. Whether they'll take to the leap in faith Caroline goes to in the film will remain to be seen.
What was good?
The cast, with the excepetion of one person who I'll discuss later, did an incredible job and they really got into their characters. One of the reasons that I drove the 30 minutes to downtown San Diego to see this film was because I found out that Kate Hudson was playing the lead role of Caroline. I was like, my little happy-go-lucky Kate Hudson is in a freakin' ghost story?! How cool is that! Hudson really showed that she is an avid actress and can play more than the cute high school chick in the next teen movie. There were times when you really understood why Caroline chose to get into the home-care profession, which basically means taking care of someone on their deathbed.
Another standout character was John Hurt as Ben, the paralyzed husband of Violet (played by Gena Rowlands). As he couldn't move for most of the movie, almost all of his acting is done solely with his face. The scene when Caroline sees the pain and anguish in his eyes, his pleading for her help, that was one of the most notable moments between two characters that I can remember in a long time. There is another scene when Caroline wants to test a part of the ghost story's mythology, and Ben's reaction gave me a jump in my seat!
By far the best character of the movie was Gena Rowlands as Violet. Now I don't want to ruin the surprises in the movie so I can't really talk a lot about her character as it really revolves around her more than Caroline. I would like to say, though, that she goes through the biggest character change - from a sweat old southern lady (who doesn't really like Caroline at all - one line was priceless - "You don't got them paintin' all over your body do ya?") to someone that you don't want to be left alone with in the same room.
The crew deserves kudos for their hard work as well. The camara work really sets the mood, especially in the important scenes. There was one shot where Caroline first enters the house where out of the shadows a statue of a Saint comes in that scared the crap out of me. Then after I noticed what it was I laughed. The music also set the mood well. Going from dance/hip-hop numbers to stock scary-music score stuff just added to the scenes.
Okay, Mr. Kiss-ass, did you not like anything in this movie?
My biggest disappointment in this film was Peter Sarsgaard as Luke, the male "romance" figure who plays the lawyer for Ben and Violet, setting up their wills. My beef was that is accent was all over the place, not consistent at all. They really should re-track his lines and get it right. Now I think a lot of my problems with his performance overall were relieved at the final act when the big secret is revealed but I just couldn't bring myself to forgive his performance on that merit alone.
Also, Luke and Caroline showed me no chemestry as a romantic couple. In fact, I laughed when they actually had "romance" as something to check off in the audience feedback forms because I didn't see any romance at all in the entire film (I finally got to checked off "poor", hehe). One scene in particular, when Luke and Caroline are talking about the history of the house, Luke just reaches over and plants a big wet one on her. I was like, what the hell? The kiss does make more sense after the "big reveal" in the final act but still, you're left wondering why it had to happen.
Another scene that needs to be either re-written or cut all together was a dinner scene with Caroline and Violet. Each is trying to drug the other, and the drama was lost as it was totally predictable as to what was going to happen.
I don't know how well this film will do, but it has a late-summer release date of July 2005, so it may have found itself in a good spot. After the film was over, I was chosen to discuss my opinions with the Nielson Reasarch team along with a couple dozen other guests. It was quite a debate, but a good majority put "very good" or better in their overall rating of the film. I am curious to see the final product and find out of they change anything. This film definately gives you a good ghost story, and if you just go with it, you'll be given a real treat.
I think I've said enough now....until next time,
Maxwellhouse
Nicely done. I appreciate you resending the review, and we’ll see what work they’ve done when it hits screens next year.
"Moriarty" out.
