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Member since:08.03.2001
Reviews:254
Members who trust:141
Ah, the post modern deconstruction of irony and sarcasm continues apace. In the absence of originality, Ben has fallen into the trap of using the stalwart “calling a spade a spade” school of writing. See also “Insert Hilarious Title Here” and “This Is My Title”. Ben likes to play with your expectations. Ben is a cheeky monkey. And so is Alejandro Amenábar, the director of The Others. He’s been playing with my mind for the last 2 hours, and hey! Lemme tell you about it...
THE STORY (spoiler free):
Nicole Kidman plays Grace, a slightly irritable Englishwoman who lives in a huge house in Jersey with her two children. She has placed an advert for some home help, after her last servants mysteriously vanished. Her husband has not come back from war, and is missing presumed dead. Her children are a further cause of concern for her already shattered nerves, as they are photosensitive – overexposure to the sun could kill them. Enter three wandering helpers – An old Irish woman, an Englishman and a mute girl (sounds like a set up for an offensive joke to me...). After a rather eccentric introduction to the house and its rules by Grace, the servants settle in to their routine, but the house seems to be less than welcoming. What do the
help know about the events that are driving Grace to distraction? What is the cause of the permanent fog around the grounds? And who are the strange family that Grace’s daughter claims she can see?
Now, unfortunately, this is another case of “see the trailer, ruin the movie”. In fact, I had already figured out one of the key plot twists quite early on in the proceedings, as might the more observant Ciaoer. It’s hard to go in cold to such a hyped movie, but don’t worry, I’ll rant about it later…
Nicole Kidman’s performance is as good as you would expect from the Moulin Rouge star – her English accent is spot on, as are the performances from the child leads. No Home Alone hamminess here, thank crumbcake. Also a nice surprise was Eric Sykes as one of the servants, but it’s a little tricky not to smile when he delivers his lines. I just can’t get the image of him in Sykes, re-enacting naval battles in the bath. The performances are good all round, but I would close your eyes through the credit sequence, as it may ruin things for you. Yeah, I know, I’m asking you for a lot, but trust me. Think how good Blair Witch would have been if you knew NOTHING about it, and were just given it on a blank videotape, the end credits missing.
Story wise, I could draw comparisons to another couple of movies, but this would also ruin it for you... jeez, could I have picked a worse subject for an op (Yes - see my forthcoming op “Snake Willies” in the Food & Drink section.)? The atmosphere is thicker than frozen custard, and a prevailing sense of unease will have you clutching the cup holders waiting for something to happen. Thing is… it doesn’t. I loved this – it made the scares more heightened when they hit, yet the more fidgety out there will probably want to go get a Cornetto or play Snake on their phone for a while… I don’t know. There were people shifting around and nattering when I saw this… bastards… nearly lost my concentration. This is one to see on an afternoon off when there’ll only be people who REALLY want to see it in the cinematorium. Or skiving kids.
So sorry for all you fans of lengthy ops out there, but I don’t want to give anything else away about this. It’s less of a horror, more of a thriller, and there are few special effects or flashy visuals. The direction is subtle and sparse, with a lot of static shots. The score is good, but does fall foul of the “make music go loud when there’s nothing around” cliché, which is nearly as bad as a tin of paint being moved, only for a cat to jump out. Scared? No. Why? BECAUSE IT’S A CAT. The shocks and scares are more suggested than seen here, and just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, you haven’t.
One thing I did feel (except for stale popcorn beneath my Hook-Ups) was that after the “gotcha!” dénouement, the film keeps going, and it stumbles on for about 5 minutes longer than it needs to. You’re clever, you can figure things out, right? Wrong, The Others decides to spell it all out nice and simple, and as such loses a little clout in this Ben’s humble estimation.
In all, if this was a pack of Dairylea Dunkers, it would be a salt & vinegar flavour one, where you enjoy the crunchy sticks, but realise at the last one that you’ve eaten all the dip too quickly, and must endure the final dry tube minus the cheesy goodness you had been enjoying. And all you wanted was a little bit of dip left in the dunk section so you could get yer finger in and scrape it out. Hmm, I’m hungry...
~~~~~ Official site #1 - http://www.losotros.com/ (all in Spanish)
Official site #2 - http://theothers.com/ (all in English, pretty sparse)
~~~~~ Other titles for this opinion (dropped at the last minute):
Pull The Others One You've Got To Be Kidman Nervous Nicole In Naughty Nightmare
~~~~~ A few months down the line...
Seeing as this is out on video I thought I'd muse on it a bit more. Every time I think about this movie I want to see it less. It's less of a out-and-out fright-fest, more of a spooky drama. I've seen far scarier movies since this (Ring, for example). Hence, my ratings below have changed according to my current position.
I AM SUCH A FICKLE LITTLE PICKLE!
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2002 - Thriller - Director: K.C. Bascombe - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Jesse James, Rachel Skarsten, Charles Powell, Linda Purl, Kevin Zegars
Thriller - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Timothy West, Neil Morrissey, Tara Fitzgerald, Annette Crosbie, Pauline Quirke, Rob Brydon, Denise Van Outen, John Thomson, Kevin Whately, David Suchet
Production Year: 2002 - Thriller - Director: Bharat Nalluri, Rob Bailey, Andy Wilson - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Matthew MacFadyen, Keeley Hawes, David Oyelowo, Peter Firth, Jenny Agutter, Lisa Faulkner
I've seen this film many times, and every time I watch it I always notice something I haven't noticed before. Although OK, I've only seen it three times. But Gd film and VGd op, Zoey*
rayliu 14.05.2002 11:26
I've just re-watched this myself on DVD and you're right, its mostly the score that makes the film chilling! And watching ot for the second time just confirmed how obvious the plot was, except the first time i was too thick to work it out! Regards, Ray
A welcome throwback to the spooky traditions of Jack Clayton'sThe Innocentsand Robert ... more
Wise'sThe Haunting, Alejandro Amenábar'sThe Othersfavours atmosphere, sound, and suggestion over flashy special effects. Set in 1945 on a fog-enshrouded island off th...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
A welcome throwback to the spooky traditions of Jack Clayton'sThe Innocentsand Robert ... more
Wise'sThe Haunting, Alejandro Amenábar'sThe Othersfavours atmosphere, sound, and suggestion over flashy special effects. Set in 1945 on a fog-enshrouded island off th...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Screen sensation and Golden Globe winner Nicole Kidman (Moulin Rouge, Eyes Wide Shut) ... more
delivers an utterly unforgettable performance in this scary and stylish suspense thriller. While awaiting her husband's return from war, Grace (Kidman) and her two yo...
Sooner Or Later They Will Find You. A young woman (Kidman) and her two children reside ... more
in a secluded island mansion awaiting the return of her husband from the war. Her children have a mysterious disease that won't allow them to be near sunlight so s...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
![The Others (2 Disc Collectors Edition) [DVD] [2001]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78530551.jpg "The Others (2 Disc Collectors Edition) [DVD] [2001]")
Nov 7th, 2001
(May 10th, 2002)
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