Good or Great? Hmmm...

Rating: 8/10 (31 May 2003)

War World II has finished, and Grace (Nicole Kidman) and her two children, Anne and Nicholas, live in a huge foreboding mansion. Grace sadly, and perhaps naively, awaits the return of her husband, who went off to fight. Currently Grace has no home help, but she doesn't have to worry for too long. One day three people knock on the door and offer to be her servants. Grace not only needs help for the garden and cleaning but also for her children, who are photosensitive, which essentially means they are allergic to light. Keeping the children away from all light, except for dim candle-light, is a hard job, and this has taken it's toll on poor Grace. But soon Grace will have something else to worry about.
A weird noise here, a bizarre occurrence there. Strange things are happening in the house. Is it ghosts? Is it Grace's imagination? Or is she going mad? And do the three servants have anything to do with this, or are they innocent bystanders?
When the credits started rolling, I didn't know what to make of this film. I had enjoyed it for the most part, but near the end I started to wonder whether the film really was as smart as it thought it was. I had heard the film contained a nice twist, and when I watched what I thought was supposed to be the twist I was greatly disappointed. But I was wrong, and the film had a little bit more to go. I enjoyed the twist, but I don't think it's of jaw-dropping quality. Which is quite like the whole movie, very understated. If you only like big action movies, this isn't for you. I enjoyed the slow pace of the film, and the score is very nice, along with the cinematography. I enjoyed all the performances, with the children being stand-outs, and Nicole Kidman as good as ever. One complaint is that I would have liked more scenes with Lydia.
In the first half of the film there were several scenes, that while not boring, I thought weren't as amazing as the movie seemed to make of them. However, upon finding out of the twist I feel these scenes would have a bigger impact on me. So I certainly will be going back for a second viewing.

I have seen the other film by writer/director Alejandro Amenabar, Abre los ojos, and enjoyed it greatly, and I look forward to seeing more films from him.
Whether this is a good or great film doesn't really matter, have no doubt, this is a very fine film. I just didn't know how good it was. I couldn't decide whether to give it an 8 or 9. If I could, I'd give it a 8.5 out of 10. But I can't, so...
8/10