Another good example of why I’m doing this project. I haven’t watched this dvd in 7 years. In fact I don’t even remember why it made the first cut of movies that we sold. But alas I DO own it and the MMB has chosen me to watch it. Based on the short story The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, The Others is a supernatural thriller (not a horror movie!). It stars Nicole Kidman and was produced by Tom Cruise (who was her husband at the time). I was initially really excited to watch this again. I don’t remember everything in it and was interested to see if it was worth owning. After all, at one time I was moved so much to buy the 2 disc special edition of this movie. Have I gone mad?
The movie is not as scary as I remember it to be. If I had my choice the best way to watch this is in the pitch black while it’s cold. But instead I’m watching it on a sunny afternoon. Nicole Kidman is solid. She was not golden globe nominee worthy (she was nominated) but still good. The main thing I didn’t like about it this time around was that it took SOOOOOOOOOO long to get going. Once the movie really kicks in about 40 minutes in it gets good. I love how Light plays a villain in this movie. How the darkness is to be a friend. It’s the opposite of most movies. The last 20 minutes is almost worth the entire movie. So chilling! If you love ghost stories, you must check this out. I don’t want to go into too much detail with the off chance of spoiling the movie from some that may not have seen it yet. Don’t want to give up the “New Situation” that the family finds itself in. The ending is a doozey!
Final Verdict: Worth it if you find it cheap. But not “2 disc special edition” worth owning.
Favorite Line: “Are you mad? I am your daughter!”
Other Tidbits:
-There are a lot of Catholic overtones in the movie which I find interesting due to Tom Cruise’s scientology background.
-The Old Testament story of Abraham and Isaac plays an important role in the movie as well. I found that very interesting.
I have to say the creepy old lady in the bedroom was the scariest part!!
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Glad you got to watch something besides a chick flick. :) Good review, this is one I know I won't be watching. (I'm a baby when it comes to scary movies) it's nice to know that there is an interesting story line and it's not all blood and guts. :o)
ReplyDeleteI love this movie. I think it is a throwback to what was great about Hitchcokian thrillers. It's all about the build...all about the mood...all about suspense. It's not supposed to scare you exactly, it's supposed to make you uneasy. I think it acheives that perfectly.
ReplyDeleteI also disagree about Nicole Kidman. I think she is spot on in this movie, and her fragile yet angry portrayal of the mother is what makes this movie work. I don't begrudge her nomination at all.
This is a movie I would love to own and would probably watch over and over. I think I saw it 3 times in the theatre when it came out-and if you know what a cheapskate I am, that's saying something.
Never seen it...don't like scary movies or ghost stories either! Although, your review does kinda make me want to see it! LOL!
ReplyDeleteI figured it out less than halfway through and ruined it for everyone I was watching it with. That's the reason I like it.
ReplyDeleteI am sure that I won't find it as scary as watching it alone, in an empty dorm, with the lights off at night, and a foot of snow outside. On the other hand...I'm a big baby about scary/suspenseful movies anyway.
ReplyDeleteI really liked this movie, as well. I love any movie with period costumes and old, pretty houses. I can't believe how old this movie is!!
ReplyDeletei thought when i first saw this movie was that it was super scary!
ReplyDeleteVery good review. You have it nailed - a supernatural thriller, not a horror film. Much like The Sixth Sense (though not as good). This was one of the first films I watched Nicole Kidman not "be" Nicole Kidman. All previous efforts seemed to be Kidman "acting"; in this you see how she can be a really good actress; in fact, she won an Oscar the following year for "The Hours." I think she probably deserved a Golden Globe nod (after all, there are 10 nominees for actress - comedy/musical and drama) but not strong enough to pull an Oscar nod (which she didn't for this film but rather for "Moulin Rouge!" which, oddly enough, I didn't like her as much). Another film from director Alejandro Amenábar that's interesting is "The Sea Inside", a 2004 Spanish with Javier Bardem.
ReplyDeleteI really liked this movie and think she did a great job in it. I didn't know that Tom produced it. I think Nicole is very pretty and she can really sing.
ReplyDeleteI saw this in the cinema. It was okay, but I haven't wanted to see it since. My main critique is that I thought it took too long for the characters to figure out what we already knew. For example, I thought it was too long from the time she saw her husband outside to the time she figured out what was going on. Still, I do enjoy a good supernatural story, so it's worth watching once. But maybe just once.
ReplyDeletenever saw this movie. so I don't have any real opinion for it. I did find the tidbits you mentioned kinda interesting also. Just goes to show you that people will play with religion in a movie to make the appeal greater for the masses. Atheist John Huston directed and stared in "The Bible", a movie about the first 5 books of the bible...he played Noah....go figure.
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