Nice filmmaking, but not quite all there...

Rating: 7/10 (12 August 2001)

This thriller is very Hitchcockian - the comparisons are too numerous to mention, from the bird noises to the ankle camera shots (Kidman even looks like Hitchcock's favorite actress, Grace Kelly from certain angles!). But The Others would have been a mediocre Hitchcock, and is above average modern American flick. A lot here is taken from the Sixth Sense school, but not done as well. Surprisingly, it's the story that's a bit weak and predictable here, bogging down excellent cinematography, directing, acting, etc. The mechanics are wonderful. Way too many scenes of Kidman in a gloomy hallway with an oil lamp... Enough already. There are no secondary plots here of any interest - the main one may be enough to carry the movie, but not make it great. As for the amazing surprise / plot twist at end --- I honestly had it pegged in the first 1/2 hour, and I normally am pretty darn dumb when it comes to "figuring out" surprise endings.... Maybe I was lucky on this one, or maybe there was just so much dead time during the film that I had the chance to think about it too much...