GHOSTS!!!! (The Others (Collectors Edition, 2 DVDs))

Member Name: dave27

Product:	The Others (Collectors Edition, 2 DVDs)
Date:	23/02/04 (52 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Thrilling

Disadvantages: Worthy

Sooner or later they will find you ... so says the strapline, and you realise pretty much straight away exactly what you're going to get with The Others, starring Nicole Kidman and directed by Alejandro Amenabar. It's a very slowly built, eerie ghost story of the classic kind, ominous and scary. It tells the tale of a woman called Grace and her two children who have moved to a large house in Jersey around the end of World War II. Her husband is away in the war and she is waiting for him to return. You know things are not quite right when you find that the two children are unable to go out in the direct sunlight because of a disease which could potentially kill them. Grace is over protective and paranoid and controlling, insisting on a number of oppressive rules to protect her children. As the film begins she is hiring a family of servants to help around the house, and you're up and running with a dark and fearful tale of ghosts and danger, although The Others is as much a thriller as a strict ghost story,

It's certainly very compelling and scary and well worth a watch. I can't say it's the best ghost story of all time, but it is certainly well above the run of the mill and a classy act.

Cast:
Nicole Kidman - Grace
Fionnula Flanagan - Mrs Mills
Christopher Eccleston - Charles
Alakina Mann - Anne
James Bentley - Nicholas
Eric Sykes - Mr Tuttle
Elaine Cassidy - Lydia
Renee Asherson - Old Lady
Gordon Reid - Assistant
Keith Allen - Mr Marlsih
Michelle Fairley - Mrs Marlish
Alexander Vince - Victor

The Others is a well composed and expertly realised story which has a neat twist at the end, and wil
l keep you hooked from the first dark minutes. It's full of uneasy foreboding and deeply ominous moments, combining all the classic ghost story tricks. The acting in general is good, although Nicole Kidman as the neurotic Grace dominates almost all the scenes. I've always liked Kidman who is so much more than your average dumb blonde, and can even be forgiven for being an Aussie. After all it isn't really her fault, is it?

The Others is all about atmosphere and fear and dark corners, where some mysterious being is lying wait, to do who knows what. The lethargic pace and huge vaunting silences are used to build up the mood and there's no fear of losing the audience. As is always the case, less is eminently more and Amenabar has crafted a masterful film. Its dynamics do drag a little at times, but in the modern world it's unusual for patience to be so evident in a film.

Having said all this and sung the film's praises, I could contrarily find The Others very dull and boring indeed and criticise it for making rather too much out of quite a simple story. Not a great deal actually happens, and a lot is made of what does.


Beauty is inevitably in the eye of the beholder and I can understand anyone falling into either of these two camps - this is the sort of film which it is easy to admire, but also easy to despise. It relies significantly on its twist and so does not really repay too many repeat viewings.


On the whole, I could easily live without ever watching The Others again, but am glad I've seen it the once.


As dull and boring reviews go, this undoubtedly takes the biscuit. Quietly worthy and sincerely created, The Others ends up making you very tired and weary, and writing this piece has made me realise exactly how dull it is.


As sc
hizoid Dooyoo writers go, I've certainly gone.


Okay, my stay in the dull world of padding out over, I'll give you the succinct truth about The Others...

It's a subtle little piece of film making which is artfully made and composed, by a director who knows his stuff and who coaxes some decent performances out of his cast. There's no rushing or over excitement, but a decent development of dynamics and pace at exactly the right times. It's gorgeously po faced and dull, revelling in the darkness and mystery of the house and the tale. As a ghost story, it's intriguing, as a thriller, it's exciting, as a film, it's masterful, as a review, it's very dull indeed...

DVD features-
Theatrical trailer(s)
2 disc set
"A Look Inside The Others" - 30 minute documentary
Visual effects featurette
"Xeroderma Pigmentosum" The story of a family dealing with the disease portrayed in the film
An intimate look at director Alejandro Amenabar
The Others photo album
Widescreen anamorphic format
Number of discs: 2

Summary: