THE OTHERS review

Alejandro Amenábar, wherever you are, THANK YOU!

Everyone else, if you read this let me make a formal request of you. This Friday there are other films coming out. With AMERICAN PIE 2 you will get more of the same. With OSMOSIS JONES you will get some gross out humor that’s juvenile, but fun. However, with THE OTHERS by Alejandro Amenábar, you will get a fantastic film experience.

This isn’t a momentary distraction. This isn’t a few laughs that you forget an hour later. This is a classic film. It just oozes classic cinema. Have you seen the 1944 JANE EYRE with Joan Fontaine and Orson Welles? Or how about Joan Fontaine in Alfred Hitchcock’s REBECCA from 1940? Have you seen Charles Laughton’s classic NIGHT OF THE HUNTER? How about THE CHANGELING with George C Scott? Or Robert Wise’s CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE or THE HAUNTING? And yes I will dare say it, yes even Kubrick’s THE SHINING… THE OTHERS tastes exactly like these movies.

You see THE OTHERS is absolutely classic gothic horror. The sort of long sweet haunting that just layers and layers into your mouth like a fine vintage wine. This movie you sip and smile. It has been crafted to perfection.

Within the first ten to fifteen minutes the entire style guide of the film is laid out to us as Nicole Kidman takes the ‘new help’ around the house. Her children suffer from a rare light sensitive skin ailment… they break out with rashes, boils and begin having trouble breathing and could eventually die from exposure to intense light. So all the curtains must be drawn close when the children walk through the house during the day. Also, due to the German occupation during WWII and the constant cutting of power, the family lives by oil burning lamps and firelight. In order to protect the children from spare light, you must lock every door immediately after you pass through it and before you open the next door. Nicole’s character is highly reactive to sound, so noisy things are forbidden. No radios, no playing of music or pianos… it all gives her migraines, so you must stay quiet.

The result of all of this is incredible sound design, lighting (which sometimes reminded me of BARRY LYNDON, which is my award for best lighting ever) and an eerie creepy atmospheric mood that just tingles. Tickles the spine.

This is superb filmmaking. Nicole Kidman easily performs on par with Joan Fontaine here, if not better. This is easily the best performance I’ve seen from her ever. She has also never looked better. Her clothes, hair and make-up are all just luminescent. She glows in this film, haunted beauty, tired beauty, overwhelmed and exhausted… near the breaking point.

The Children… porcelain skin… fair like powdered China. Expressive without being overtly cute. They seem creepy, but real. I love that they don’t have giant eyeballs or that the limit of their acting is the ability to stare while light is reflected in their eyes so that there seems to be intelligence. These kids know their fates… to remain locked in the house, never to watch a sunset. Vampires of limited mortality. Their performances are those of children spooked afraid and fragile, while still living and dealing and adapting to it. They are never paralyzed by it. And the relationship between Older Sibling and Younger Sibling is dead on perfect.

The Help… The Mute, The Gardner and The Nanny. The Mute girl reminds me of Anna Paquin, but Elaine Cassidy has more going on in the eyes. The Gardner is just a great face, great look… absolutely classic. And then, there’s the Nanny, Mrs. Mills… She’s played by Fionnula Flanagan, who you may recognize from WAKING NED DEVINE, but oh wow is she great. What a face, voice, posture.

THE OTHERS… I will not comment on THE OTHERS. The Others were completely not what I was expecting. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I do know that you should not have their look spoiled for you. This film has magic in its veins and when you see THE OTHERS… you will seriously be creeped out.

The film is filled with twists and turns, but I recommend just letting this film happen to you. This isn’t a mystery to figure out, this is a Ghost Story… and as a Ghost Story, it is one of the absolute best told classic Ghost Stories I’ve ever read, heard or seen.

I can not recommend this film highly enough, and no amount of praise is over the top for Nicole, who is just brilliant here.

Again, Alejandro Amenábar THANK YOU, that was a complete delight that I can’t get out of my head. Thank you!