Hey folks, Harry here with a look at the others provided by Chains. Seems that at the very least we have a solid thriller/horror/ghost story on our hands, maybe not great, but pretty damn good apparently. That's what most everyone is saying. Here ya go... there are minor spoilers, but not massive spoilers...
Hey Harry,
Seeing as how you've justified posting reviews for "Princess Diaries" I decided to send you my review of "The Others" - Nicole Kidman's new mystery/supernatural flick that was produced (in part) by Tom "Don't call me Penelope" Cruise, and directed by Alejandro Amenebar, who made "Open Your Eyes" - which has been re-made as "Vanilla Sky" (due out later this year, courtesy of Cruise & Cameron Crowe). Amenebar also composed the score for this film, which was mostly unintrusive aside from a few exceptions.
A while back I read a review of an early test screening of the film, so I had a clue of what it was about, but it'd be best not to know anything going in. However, fans who've seen any recent movies having to do with the supernatural, or movies with unexpected twists (I wasn't alone at "Planet of the Apes" last Friday afternoon)... they won't be blown away by the ending.
The good news is that the bulk of the movie is entertaining. I'll give a brief set-up, but I don't like "book report" style reviews, so I'll spare any significant details. In other words, NO SPOILERS.
It takes place in England towrd the end of WWII, almost completely inside an isolated old mansion. Kidman's character hires three servants who come knocking. Their main task is to keep the all the curtains drawn in the house. You see, her two children are not allowed to be exposed to direct sunlight. Apparently, they have a condition that causes their skin to burn and blister when exposed to too much light.
That's all I'll say about the plot, since less is more here. The main focus of the story is the relationship between the mother and her two children, who do a fine job of acting (more appealing than Kidman, in my opinion). Apparently, she keeps them in line by forcing them to read the bible and telling them all about the 4 divisions of Hell. But this isn't "Flowers in the Attic" (Damn those Saturday afternoons on USA Network!) by any stretch. Kidman's character isn't evil, she seems to genuinely care about her kids.
The pacing of the film is pretty good most of the way through... toward the end I was thinking about looking at my watch, but never pulled the trigger. Most people will spend the whole movie trying to figure out "the twist", since it's a given (and probably mandated by Hollywood law since "Sixth Sense") in these types of films. It's entertaining, though... and the supporting characters are convincing, especially the eldest servant woman, whom you may recognize from "Waking Ned Devine". She was a pleasure to watch. I think I actually enjoyed the tamer, conversational scenes in this movie more than the "suspenseful" scenes.
One other thing that the film did well was the way it took advantage of surround sound. It really felt like noises were coming from all different parts of the theatre, which was pretty startling at times. Being a lover of horror movies, I don't scare easily... but I did jump a couple times. And I didn't feel insulted or guilty as I did when watching those lousy "Last Summer" movies.
The score fell silent at several key moments, which I appreciated... but came in loud, imposing, and obvious in others.
Here's a good way to judge this film... I'll rank it between similar genre flicks: Better than (ugh) What Lies Beneath and the teen spook flicks, but not as good as Sixth Sense. Still though... not bad. Just don't expect a knock-me-on-my-ass ending and you'll have a good time.
I'd recommend catching this one in a matinee - enjoy the surround sound experience for this one.
Grade: B
Hope this was helpful,
Chains
