Stylish, subtle scares

Rating: 7/10 (18 November 2013)

The Others is a ghost story but in this haunted house the scares are quite subtle. This is a movie which, to its great benefit, is more about the story than shocking, scary moments. To be sure there are some good frights sprinkled throughout. But nothing over-the-top. This movie is more interested in making you think than in frightening you. What exactly is going on in this house? It's a mystery the audience will be trying to solve right along with the characters. Nicole Kidman plays Grace Stewart, mother of two young children. The three of them live alone in an isolated house on the island of Jersey in the days immediately following the end of World War II. Grace's husband is presumed dead in the war. The family's servants just up and left in the middle of the night. Three new servants arrive at the house. And here things begin to get very interesting.
From the moment we meet them there is something slightly off about these new servants. An aging nanny, an elderly gardener and a mute young woman...they're quite the odd trio. But they know the house, having worked there before and Grace welcomes them in. But first Grace must explain the rules for the house, rules designed to keep all sunlight out as the children are so sensitive to the light it would kill them. This makes for a dark atmosphere which adds so much to the film, especially once things start to go bump in the night. Grace's daughter Anne sees the ghosts but Grace herself refuses to believe it. The servants, especially the nanny Mrs. Mills, seem to know more than they are letting on. It's pretty clear these servants hold the movie's secrets. What are those secrets? The fun for us is in finding out. Grace needs to find the answers too but it seems unlikely she'll find much fun in it.
Kidman is excellent in playing the loving, protective mother who is thoroughly harried by the unseen intruders in her home. Fionnula Flanagan is also terrific playing the mysterious Mrs. Mills who is somehow creepy even when she's not trying to be. Or maybe she is trying. Also notable are the performances of the young actors playing the children. James Bentley is quite good in playing the boy, Nicholas, but it is Alakina Mann, playing Anne, who is the true revelation. Mann turns in one of the best child acting performances you'll ever see, mature far beyond her years in playing a girl who sees ghosts and is not even freaked out by them, taking it all in her stride. Kudos to director Alejandro Amenábar for coaxing such fine performances from his cast and for creating such a creepy atmosphere. The movie's story is a smart one, building slowly but surely toward its big climax. There are enough hints sprinkled throughout that may let you figure things out before the characters do. So maybe when the ending comes it doesn't pack quite as much of a wallop as it would if you were totally stunned by it. But it is still all in all a very satisfying movie-watching experience. A good story with enough subtle little scares thrown in to keep happy those who are looking for chills and thrills.