Did there have to be a séance?

Rating: 7/10 (21 May 2003)

Without spoiling too much I will say that I was slightly disappointed that a séance was performed at one point in this movie, with the implication that a genuine connection with the, shall we say "spirit world" was made. Even the movie Ghost knew better than that! All "professional" mediums, without exception, are charlatans and con artists, and promotion of a rational viewpoint in life is not helped by otherwise intelligent movies falling into this particular trap.
And it is an intelligent movie. For the most part the film manages very well to tell its story in little revelatory bits and pieces, whilst keeping the tension high. It even manages well the part where the returned father actually being dead is so obvious to the audience, although Grace and the children (of course) don't recognise it. It is handled in a way that it doesn't matter. He's there for character and plot development, not shock value.
The problem arises in the final act of the film. It's at this point that, not simply because of the plot, but something in the way it was written, lit, shot, acted, edited together: somehow one is suddenly no longer watching a movie, but an episode of television melodrama. Maybe it is because the movie doesn't finish with a cathartic climax with, say, the house burning down or something, but rather one of those ambiguous twists which reminds you of "Tales of the Unexpected" or "The Twilight Zone". But also (again without going into too much detail) there is a marked increase in phoney looking period detail, and the look, acting and writing suddenly puts one in mind of a rather sub-par episode of "Poirot".
Despite all the praise received from professional critics, my view was that Kidman's performance was the weakest of an otherwise excellent little ensemble (particularly Alakina Mann as the daughter who is just fantastic). I was especially keen to see the magnificent Eric Sykes, who seems to be getting more work as he gets older. For non-British readers (and indeed anybody under 30), I would like to point out that Eric Sykes is not just a consummate character actor, he is also one of the funniest writers and performers this country has produced, beginning over 50 years ago with his collaborations with Spike Milligan on the legendary Goon Show, and right up to the 1980s with his own sitcom, "Sykes". He's still acting on stage and screen, despite having been profoundly deaf for many years.