"Sometimes the world of the living gets mixed up with the world of the dead." -The Others
The Others is a film that certainly knows how to create a stunning visual atmosphere. The decadent house is beautiful, and at the same time possesses the typical "haunted house" elements (Gothic architecture, darkness, doors that close on their own, squeaking floorboards, and so on). However, director Alejandro Amenábar gives the audience some newer aspects, such as the house having to be kept dark because of the children's condition. The setting provides the good old "haunted house surrounded by fog" archetype, but carries it off with the well-crafted surroundings of the place where the film takes place.
Aside from the setting, Nicole Kidman delivers a great performance (as always) in convincing us she's a normal person (aside from the occasional madness), and she carries the film through with her emotional deliveries. From seeing Charles again, to fiercely loving her children, and finding out their true fate and accepting it, she packs the emotional punch.
Overall, I enjoyed the film, but there were a few things that fell flat for me. The three caretakers that come to serve in the house are predictably "not normal," and their purposes could have been amped up a bit throughout the movie. However, it was interesting during the end to see the caretakers and the dead family come together at the realization they will be living in the house together since neither of them are the true "intruders."
Use of cliches aside, the movie does a decent job at leaving a trail of clue for the audience to put the puzzle pieces together. Anne's anger and Nicholas's denial tip us off that something is not right between children and mother, and Charles's strange behavior and choice of words, "Sometimes I bleed," further clue us in that things are not right here. The reveal of them all being dead, even the father (I'm curious to how his ghost got to theirs? But I love the scene where Grace finds Charles in the fog), is an idea seen every now and then in horror films and written works, but the director carries the idea off smoothly and I felt fairly satisfied with the ending. Getting to see the other side of "the intruders" was a nice addition to the story arc as well.
Happy Hauntings,
Sara
I agree that the Others did an okay job of leaving clues about the nature of the house and the characters. I was going to say that this is the first horror-ish movie that I've seen where the dead are the main focus and not the living, but the Sixth Sense actually did a better job of making the characters appear alive throughout the whole movie. It's not that I ever thought the characters in the Others were dead, it's just that you could tell that something was off throughout the entire movie. How it always seemed light out, how the fog always covered everything, the lack of transportation to and from the house, just a whole bunch of little stuff. I also agree that the other side of the intruders was interesting.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a perfectly ok film. I loved the really stereotypical fog scenes and whatnot maybe a bit more than I should have because I'm really into older horror and it gave me lovely Rosemary's Baby vibes. However, I think the disease thing was pretty interesting and a nice little new touch. The story is a little murky in places but the tone and the atmosphere are just so phenomenal. I'm pretty happy I got around to it.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with you about the caretakers. It seems like they could have been developed a bit more as characters. But I guess if he did that then the fact that they were already dead would probably come up. I've always wondered though, do they have to say servants forever? Seems like a crappy way to spend eternity.
ReplyDeleteAnd I always thought her stubbornness brought him out of the fog.