Kidman kudos. Borrowed theme but still worthy of theater viewing.

Rating: 10/10 (11 August 2001)

I've never been a Nicole Kidman fan, but found her disturbingly authentic here as a prim and proper widow on the edge of her coping skills. Her neurotic orthodoxy and nunnery-brand discipline are simply crutches to carry her character through what would be a ghastly existence of having to raise children in a large, necessarily dark and gloomy mansion... while silently grieving the loss of husband and father killed the war. Who wouldn't go a little nutty under such circumstances?
The Others does borrow from the plot of another recent hit movie, but is different enough in style and execution that it certainly warrants a movie theater viewing. I don't hold myself out to be a professional critic, so take it for what it's worth when I say that The Others is intricate, occasionally plodding, but certainly chilling.