8/10/2019 Film Review the Others
1/3
The Others(2001) MovieReview
Astonishing ActBy 25 MaleVictims Who
Were e!"ally Assa"lte#$ hoc%ing B"t&ns'iring B"**Wo%$com The
BestB"**ing tories +rying &n One,lace (B"**wo%)
31 January 2002 byNIX|Horror Movie News,Horror Movie
Reviews,Reviews
Spanish filmmaker Alejandro Amenabars The Others came along at
the perfect time. The spooky horror filmentered the marketplace at
a time when teenybopper slasher flicks and supposedly horror films
that relied on!" ghosts were gobbling up money and turning the
minds of hapless teenagers into jelly. A mo#ie like TheOthers would
ha#e fitted in perfectly had it been released in the $%s or
&%s' thus making it something of athrowback film in (%%). As
written and filmed by Amenabar' The Others stresses mood and
atmosphere o#ercheap scares.
The film stars *icole +idman as !race' an ,nglishwoman li#ing
with her two children' Anne -Alakina ann/ and*icholas -0ames
1entley/' both of whom suffers from a rare disease that makes them
allergic to sunlight. Thefamily li#es in an old spooky house
somewhere in the ,nglish countryside' a place constantly besieged
by fog.The children' we are told' can die if e2posed to the
sunlight for too long' and because of this rare illness' thehouse
is always kept darken with long drapes o#er windows and there can
ne#er be two doors opened at oncelest they risk accidental e2posure
to sunlight.
3hen we first see !race and her family' they are looking for new
domestic help. 3e learn that their last help hasmysteriously 4uit
and disappeared. Or at least thats what were told. ,nter rs. ills
and r. Tuttle' two elderlydomestics who arri#es at !races door one
day with a mute girl to offer their ser#ices. !race is surprised to
seethem' but reali5ing that she needs help to care for her children
and the house' offers the trio employment. Andthats when things
start to go wrong.
The Others is a spooky' moody film' oo5ing with atmosphere and
possible chills. " say possible because almostnothing is shown
onscreen and almost e#erything' from the chills to the appearance
of ghosts to ghostly e#ents'are seen slightly out of frame or
completely out of frame. 3e hear' feel' and sense more than we
actually seeanything happen. The mo#ie relies on the imagination of
the audience as well as its characters to scare us. Thereare scenes
that make the hair on ones neck stand up' and not once does a
knife6wielding maniac in a hockeymask show up' and there are no
corpses or bloody body to be seen.
The credit goes to writer7director Amenabar' who creates a whole
world within !races home' complete with its
own rhythms. uch of the mo#ie takes place within the many rooms'
dens' kitchen' and attic rooms of the house.Stairs and doors creak'
footsteps are heard from the floors abo#e and below' and chairs and
curtains are mo#edune2pectedly' all of it taking place slightly or
completely out of frame.
Amenabar is not looking for cheap scares here. 8e doesnt need
it' and the mo#ie comes across as sophisticatedand e#en more
unner#ing because of the decision. The scares' when they do come'
work not because were hito#er the head with them' but because as an
acti#e participant and not just mindless #iewers' Amenabar dips
intoour imagination and uses our fears to scare us. "t works
wonders and The Others is a re#elation because of it.
As !race' *icole +idman gi#es a tremendous performance. 8er
!race is at once commanding of her ser#ants andher children and
completely #ulnerable and frightened of her own life' the house'
and of her anguish about her
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8/10/2019 Film Review the Others
3/3
*hat I have to remark )pon is the solid% rivetin per"ormance o"
#icole $idman. 8er
character contained a plethora o" d)ality in every aspect. rom
min)te to min)te her
demeanor and constit)tion chaned. he went "rom bein a stron%
"ormidable woman atone point to a scared% "raile child the net. One
scene she was the stern
disciplinarian home schoolin her children% and a "ew scenes
later the dotin% over
protective mother. he proressed between one "acet to another
with )n"lawed e""ort.This is a tr)e testament to her actin ability
and versatility as an actress. It is rare that yo)
see an actress trans"orm "rom scene to scene with s)ch
consistency. 6ore aspects o" her
character are disc)ssed in the director's comments "eat)red on
the ;% which I hihlyrecommend. 5dditionally disc)ssed are the
remarkable "eat)res o" the movie% which
primarily "eat)red the same settin and staple characters
thro)ho)t the ma&ority o" the
"ilm. This was neither monotono)s nor borin and ave the viewer
the m)ch-needed
perspective o" bein encased in the same little world as +race
and the children are.Once aain% let me reiterate my astonishment
and pleas)re o" this "ilm. It is a simple "ilm
with "ew special e""ects. The story and those eec)tin it carry
the b)lk o" the weiht.
There are a "ew minor "laws% most irritatin to me was the vol)me
bein inconsistent.
The characters seemed to whisper or talk so"tly in many o" the
scenes and I )ess thedirector didn't see "it to ad&)st the
boom. There are also a co)ple scenes that either take
too lon or &)st have little p)rpose% b)t savin those and a
co)ple others% they are littlemore than technical blemishes. ee
this movie at least once% and i" yo) don't )ite et it%
or even i" yo) do% see it aain. Take a bow #icole% yo)'ve
de"initely earned it.
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