REVIEW
THE OTHERS
Starring Nicole Kidman, Christopher Eccleston, Alkalina Mann and James Bentley
Directed by Alejandro Amenábar
Opens Friday, August 10
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This Old House
The Second World War has just ended, and Grace (Nicole Kidman) is awaiting her husband’s return. In the meantime she occupies herself raising her two children, who suffer from severe photosensitivity and must therefore be kept in the dark at all times. The arrival of three servants who have come to work for the family coincides with a series of frightening incidents and weighted realizations.
The Others succeeds on many planes. The script demonstrates its awareness regarding the oral tradition of ghost stories by having much of the children’s communication with their mother wrapped up in lessons and lectures from the Bible. The setting supports this transfer of information and the constant desire to talk and tell tales. Visually, this horror story reverses the rules – due to the severity of the children’s condition, you feel protected in the darkness, and when light is allowed to make an appearance, terror strikes those on screen and in the audience.
Using careful camera work, writer-director Alejandro Amenábar (Thesis, Open Your Eyes) manipulates suspense without relying on the cheap thrills we have come to expect from traditional thrillers. Kidman is believable as the fatigued yet resilient 1940s mother, and she is in good company with Alkalina Mann and James Bentley, who play her children with the fire and spontaneity of mischief-makers.
The film owes as much to its atmosphere as it does to its story. It seems as though Amenábar and his cinematographer, Javier Aguirresarobe (Masterpiece), have a united vision on how to create mood, and it is done almost perfectly. Their version of England invites fear and anticipation, and they masterfully weave digital effects into a period environment that accentuates the isolation and ennui that surrounds Grace and her family.
A suffocating fog that constantly settles around the mansion and its occupants is one of the more ominous presences from the beginning. In films like this, there is a great opportunity to explore the dynamic of both absence and presence, and The Others takes advantage of this. Characters are conflicted – the husband’s absence is a very real presence for his family, yet the children, who are barely seen because of the darkness that follows them, seem absent. These details completely enrich the experience of Amenábar’s film.
The Others deserves attention for what it is – a captivating thriller that teases its audience, but never provides a sense of security. While it may be compared to The Sixth Sense, this film stands out as being a classic and contemporary tale of the dead, the living and any others in between. |
