Refreshingly old-fashioned, character-driven haunted house story

Rating: 8/10 (21 August 2009)

Set in the isolation of the Jersey isles in the days directly following the conclusion of World War 2, Nicole Kidman stars as Grace, an upright Catholic mother coping with the absence of her husband who has yet to return from the front and the burden of raising two precocious children (Alakina Mann and James Bentley) whose deadly allergy to sunlight requires her to keep their immense home shrouded in darkness. Into their strange home arrive an eccentric trio of servants, headed by the seemingly benevolent housekeeper Mrs. Mills. Shortly thereafter, Grace finds their lives turned inside-out as it becomes increasingly apparent that they are not alone in the house and in fact may be the targets of a malevolent haunting. Alejandro Amenabar's lush haunted house story is moody, atmospheric and plays far more like a richly textured old-fashioned film from the 1940s than the garish gross-outs and rock-'em/sock-'em visuals that cater to the attention deficit audiences of today. He has been blessed with a stellar cast, spooky settings and a solid screenplay, which keep the audience guessing as to what is going on. Sharp-eyed viewers might guess some of the elements, but it is doubtful that they will guess all of them as Amenabar has a tendency to consistently provide new twists to muddy the waters. Bentley and, particularly, Mann are credible, sympathetic youngsters, who may be victims to their physical health, but are often more astute as to what may be happening than their mother. Fionnula Flanagan is an inspired choice as the motherly housekeeper, whose unflappable demeanor masks a bit of the sinister. Much of the film rests on Kidman and her interpretation of the not always likable Grace. At the start of the film, Kidman presents Grace as rigid and unwavering – a woman to whom no obstacle cannot be overcome by sheer will and a reading of scripture. She honestly seems to love her children, but seems torn between the resentment of constantly living in darkness and isolation on their behalf and embracing the inherent martyrdom of such an existence. There is a certain bit of viewer satisfaction in watching her world shaken up a bit and seeing her iron façade start to slip. Kidman does a marvelous job of walking the line between making Grace a force to be reckoned without turning her into a hateful tyrant and then slowly transitioning her into a far more complicated woman, whose emotions slowly start bubbling to the surface. I actually find this a far more difficult and intriguing performance than the one for which she would win the Oscar the following year in The Hours. A truly worthwhile and haunting film that actually grows on the viewer even moreso over time.