The Others Review
by Eugene Novikov (lordeugene_98 AT yahoo DOT com)September 4th, 2001
The Others (2001)
Reviewed by Eugene Novikov
http://www.ultimate-movie.com/
"Is there someone in this house?!"
Starring Nicole Kidman, Fionnula Flanagan, Alakina
Mann, James Bentley, Christopher Eccleston, Erik
Sykes, Elaine Cassidy. Directed by Alejandro Amenabar.
Rated PG-13.
The Others felt like it was made specifically for me.
This doesn't mean that you'll love it, mind -- some
people just don't fancy this kind of picture -- but I
do heartily recommend that you give it a try. It's a
ghost story, but like the best ghost stories, it's
frightening because of what you don't see; suspenseful
because we anticipate disaster, not because it has
struck.
The movie begins with a scream -- literally -- and
it's about the only screaming that goes on in this
subdued affair. Nicole Kidman plays Grace, who lives
with her two children in a mansion after the end of
World War II. Her husband did not return from the war.
The old house servants ran off, apparently frightened
by something, and one of the film's first scenes has
the new servants showing up at the door. Mrs. Mills
(Fionnula Flanagan), Mr. Tuttle (Erik Sykes), and
Lydia (Elaine Cassidy), who is mute, used to work at
the house, we find out, and have returned on the off
chance that Grace needs some help.
Grace's young children -- Anne (Alakina Mann) and
Nicholas (James Bentley) -- are extremely
photosensitive, and exposure to daylight will cause
them to break out in sores and, eventually, die.
They're normal kids in every other respect -- smart,
playful, curious, reluctant to study -- except that
Anne sees people in the house, a family who isn't
supposed to be there. It's not long before Grace
herself starts hearing weird noises that subside
whenever she gets close. And then there are those
housekeepers...
The Others has been criticized for being slow, and,
indeed, if deliberate filmmaking isn't your thing, you
may not appreciate what this film has to offer. I fell
in love with the movie almost from the word go, with
its moody atmosphere, slowly building suspense and
neo-gothic production design all coming together
beautifully. Unlike any given Slasher Flick X, The
Others is also genuinely scary, combining good
old-fashioned jolts with the sort of eerie quiet
that's tantamount to utter terror.
Nicole Kidman is a magnetic presence, but the acting
props here go to Fionnula Flanagan, the veteran
actress who so creepily encapsules the mystery of her
character. I also liked newcomers James Bentley and
Alakina Mann, who collectively pull a Haley Joel
Osment in convincing us that they are terrified and
bringing us along for the ride. Spanish
writer-director Alejandro Amenabar, who gained some
American fans with his mind-blowing import Open Your
Eyes (now being remade as Vanilla Sky with Tom
Cruise), makes a confident English-language debut,
never faltering with his rhythm; he's patient and
expects the same from us.
The movie holds on to its nearly Luddite storytelling
until the very end, when we're presented with an
ending that's anchored in plot, not special effects.
It works not only as a Neat Twist, but as a plausible
character resolution as well; Amenabar thrills, but he
doesn't betray his own creation.
I can't get enough of this type of movie, mainly
because they are barely ever released (the last film
that took such a deliberate approach to the
supernatural is Unbreakable and before that The Ninth
Gate; notice the grade for both). Until M. Night
Shyamalan's new film comes out, Alejandro Amenabar is
my hero.
Grade: A-
Up Next: American Pie 2
©2001 Eugene Novikov
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