The Others

I was astonished to find that I had first intended to watch this film two Octobers ago, having taken it on holiday to Scotland with me with the aim of watching it on my laptop. I remember taking it with me along with a small stack of other DVDs and being so overwhelmed by the experience of watching Twilight (I don’t necessarily mean that in a good way) that I didn’t get around to any of the other films but concentrated on books instead.

But this year Carl cleverly included a movie watching peril for his RIP VI challenge and I created myself a little list, of which this and The Nightmare Before Christmas (which I won’t review because I watch it at least once every year) were the only ones I got around to watching; go figure.

As this is a psychological creepy film I am going to try very hard to talk about it without giving away any spoilers; this may be difficult but I will do my best.

So The Others has Nicole Kidman apparently abandoned by her staff in her stately home on an island previously occupied during the Second World War, waiting with her two young children for her husband to return from the fighting. Three mysterious new servants turn up and we begin to see how odd the household actually is – the children are apparently incredibly sensitive to light and so doors are kept  locked and unlocked as people move through the house and the curtains kept drawn and windows shuttered to protect them from the outside world.

And that’s when all the strange occurrences begin. Noises. Presences. You get the picture.

This is a really effective and atmospheric chiller. The sense of isolation is constantly reinforced by the fog which occasionally surrounds the house, and the small community goes through its daily routine without any visits from the outside world. Well, not many anyway.

I was very impressed with the performances, especially from Nicole Kidman who is an actress I can take or leave; when she’s good she’s brilliant (as here) but I’ve often been underwhelmed by her choice of projects. The two children are very good indeed, and it’s always lovely to see Eric Sykes on good form. But my favourite has to be Fionnula Flanagan who is simply wonderful as the housekeeper who knows more than she is willing to share.

I’ll have to confess that I knew the outcome of the story in advance (it is a film that has been kicking around for quite a while after all) and as with Fight Club it’s difficult to now what I might have thought of the film without this background. But I didn’t know exactly how it was all going to work out, and there was still a huge amount to enjoy, so still a great experience.

This is a film I know I will go back to in future. A good watch for RIP.

Films to see before I’m 51 – a personal challenge

So I had a quick drink with Silvery Dude before I went on holiday and we had a good old natter about films, and in particular those films that I have not seen (this largely to do with the shock felt by some friends and colleagues when they discovered that I hadn’t seen Fight Club until recently). This led to the creation of a new project: films to see before I’m 51, a personal selection by His Silveriness.

So between 1 November 2011 and 30 January 2013 I have to try to watch the following – and this is the order in which  I’ve been instructed to watch them, a celluloid compilation tape if you will:

1. The Last Samurai* – starring The Cruiser (my guilty pleasure)
2. Breaking Away* – cycling
3. Night on Earth - taxis
4. True Romance - Cage & Arquette
5. American Beauty* – a classic which I’m ashamed not to have seen
6. Big Fish* – Tim Burton, yay
7. Cinema Paradiso - oh dear, another hanging one’s head situation
8. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off - ditto, but for different reasons
9. Cars* – not sure why I haven’t watched this, the only Pixar not viewed so far
10. The Transporter - Jason Statham!
11. Crash* – not the Cronenberg one (which I saw largely because the Daily Mail told me I shouldn’t, this is the one that stopped two films I liked from winning an Oscar)
12. Unforgiven* -the Book God will be pleased
13. The Big Lebowski - no excuses for this one
14. I’ve Loved You So Long* – the lovely Kristen
15. Les amants du Pont-Neuf* – romantic, apparently
16. King Lear - the Laurence Olivier one
17. Merry Christmas Mister Lawrence - Bowie
18. Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy - I’ve avoided this because I have the books, records, radio shows and fondly remember the TV series

Those with asterisks are films I already have in my possession but just haven’t got around to watching yet.