Who are the others? (The Others (Collectors Edition, 2 DVDs))

Member Name: byblox

Product:	The Others (Collectors Edition, 2 DVDs)
Date:	14/07/09 (26 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Superb film, story, photography, performances

Disadvantages: Not one for gore and splatter fans

In post war Jersey a woman inhabits a huge mansion with her children Anne and Nicholas. Remote and quite cut off from society, Grace Stewart (a nervy and stiff upper lipped Nicole Kidman) guards her light sensitive children from the world outside and life itself. The arrival of some staff to aid with the running of the household heralds a series of creepy and inexplicable events that leads Grace to believe that the family are not alone, Anne speaks of 'intruders' but seems oddly unmoved. Grace begins to believe that she is being driven, or is going mad.

This is one of my favourite films and when I saw it first I absolutley loved it. It just ticks all the boxes for me, the period setting, the creepiness, the photography and one fantastic twist. If this was transposed into black and white it could be a perfect creepy thriller from the 1940s.

Nicole Kidman skillfully plays a character that could be unsympathetic. With Grace's nerviness, her religious convictions that seem to border on the cruel and her determination not to let the children into the world, she could be a monster but it comes across that she is only interested in her children's welfare and that life has dealt her a series of cruel blows.

One nice and original aspect is that the two children are quite characterful in themselves, they aren't cute, they get impatient, needy and in Anne's case quite creepy. It has definate shades of the similar classic 'The Innocents'. As in that film, the director understands that what you cannot see is the scariest thing, there's no gore or unsubtle nastiness. The scene where Grace is talking to her daughter dressed in her Communion outfit must be one of the most chilling moments I've seen in a film.

Available on Amazon at a very reasaonable £4.95 for a 2 dvd edition, the film comes on TV every so often. Cert 12, 104 minutes.

Summary: One of my favourite films