Kidman is good, but overall I was mostly disappointed in this film.

Rating: Null/10 (15 May 2002)

Upon release this film, "The Others", received quite a bit of favorable press. Plus, the IMDb ratings today are pretty darned high. I rented the DVD upon release yesterday, watched it, and came away fairly disappointed. Kidman is good, but often the acting and dialog made me laugh, it often seemed to be more a borderline comedy than a horror or suspense movie. Nowhere near as good or suspenseful as recent films like "The Sixth Sense" or "Unbreakable."
SPOILERS - DO NOT READ IF YOU'VE YET TO SEE THE FILM -- As the movie unfolds, and fairly deliberately at that, we come to see that Kidman is a fairly normal, if overly cautious, mother in 1945 England. Her children suffer a strange illness and must not be exposed to any strong light, especially not direct sunlight. She needs domestic workers and three show up, formerly worked there. Mom starts to hear noises that can't be explained. Or someone playing the piano. Then, all the curtains disappear. Turns out she and the kids are dead, as well as the three workers. The sounds they occasionally hear are the real people coming to view the property which is for sale. She loves her children, but had suffocated them with pillows. Her death was not explained.
A very "atmospheric" film, but to me not very suspenseful or frightening. And in the end, the story was not a particularly interesting one. I am at a loss for all the 8s, 9s, and 10s this film has been given. A rating of 6 or 7 seems about right to me.