The Others DVD: Review By kerouac1

I will admit, I've never been a big fan of Nicole Kidman. She's just never shown me anything special. There are many of you out there who would adamantly disagree with me, and that's fine. Sure, she's a good actress, but I just don't have an attachment to her. That's not to say I'm not a fan of some of the things she's been in. I love Moulin Rouge. I thought that was a special movie with one of the most original takes on unoriginal material I've ever seen. And she was good in it, too. But she didn't make the movie. Almost any actress could have played her part, and it wouldn't have effected my enjoyment of the film. But in The Other, my god, she's brilliant. She is the emotional center of this intricately told tale. From the opening moments when she awakes screaming, to the very last shot, she is just brewing with intensity. That's what this film is all about, brewing. Director Alejandro Amenabar just saturated this movie with a creepy tone that goes so slow that it's unnerving. It's the pacing that allows the tension to build, and build it does! By the time things start to happen in this movie, you're already feeling a chill deep in your bones. You just spend so much time waiting for something, like a child lying in bed, eyes glued to the closet door, KNOWING something is going to jump out any second. Part of you wishes whatever is going to happen would, just so it could be over. That is the feeling I had watching this movie. That's why I enjoyed it so much.

So what is this movie all about? Well, it takes place in the 40s, on a remote island just outside of Great Britian. The war is over, and Kidman's husband has not yet returned. To make matters worse, the house servants have run off, leaving Kidman and her two children alone in the house. Finally, just to add icing to the cake, Kidman's children are both afflicted with a rare disease called Xeroderma Pigmentosum which is a severe allergic reaction to light. It is so severe that the shades must be drawn at all times, and nothing more than a single candle can light a room. Then, three strangers show up at the house looking to become the new house servants. What follows as the group is shut in the barely lit mansion I will not reveal. But I assure you, it's creepy, moody, and keeps you riveted.

I've already stated my feelings on Nicole Kidman's performance, and how vital it was. But she's not the only one who shines in this film. Two of the finest child actors I have ever seen give stunning performances as Kidman's children Anne (Alakina Mann) and Nicholas (James Bentley).Bentley's performance, in particular, is one of the most haunting aspects of the film. His struggle to deal with his reality is amazing and subtle. He hits emotional points that I thought were possible only for Haley Joel Osment (The Sixth Sense). Fionnula Flanagan as Ms. Mills walks a fine line between the sweet, old, loving nanny, and a creepy presence with an obvious agenda that you just can't figure out. And rounding out the cast, with one of the strongest performances in the film, is the mansion that they all inhabit. Alejandro Amenabar uses the house as if it were another character. It drips with unease. The way the house makes you feel is a testament to Amenabar's ability to create a mood. His use of lighting and camera angles is incredible, giving the house a wide-open look, yet making you feel claustrophobic at the same time.

The most hyped aspect of the film, as well as the focus of the marketing campaign for it, was the big twist ending. I'm not going to say what it is just in case you haven't watched the film before, but it's a doozy. The way it is presented is intense and emotional, and really conveys the weight attached to the revelation. But, this film was so good, and so well paced, that I didn't need the twist; it was a bonus. I'm not saying that it shouldn't have been there, I'm just saying that I already had fallen in love with this film before it hit.

"A Look Inside The Others" - 30 minute doc*mentary

Your usual behind-the-scenes featurette. Nothing more than the 30 minute commercials for the film that you see called "HBO First Look...". But, the fact is I'm a sucker for these things. Check it out. It's weird to see Kidman is a lower emotional state than she has throughout the film.

Visual effects featurette

I know, you're like, "Huh? What visual features?" This is more about the lighting, and how the movie LOOKS VISUALLY. We always correlate these with CGI effects now, but that's not what this is about. THis is about how a filmmaker can use lighting to create mood... a forgotten art in the realm of filmmaking these days. It's interesting. I really enjoyed this one.

"Xeroderma Pigmentosum" The story of a family dealing with the disease portrayed in the film

GOD! It's no wonder Kidman's character is the way she is. This has got to be one of the hardest ailments to deal with. And these poor people are not characters in a movie. They deal with this disease day in and day out. A rather minor part of the story, but a nice touch to add to the features. See, it's about attention to detail...

An intimate look at director Alejandro Amenabar

Yep, this guy has the goods. He one helluva director who knows how to tell a gripping story. Thank you Tom Cruise for understanding what this guy has, and bringing it to effects happy, story lacking Hollywood.

The Others photo album

If you've seen the film, you know the part that the creepy photo album plays. Well, this is a pretty standard DVD feature dressed up to be just a tad bit cooler.

Overall, this is a solid DVD package, but with it being 2 discs, you expect a little more.

A piece on the child actors would have been nice, or the inspiration behind the story. But, this is what we get, and it ain't bad at all.

Other filmmakers need to watch this movie. They need to see that effects do not drive a story, the performances do. And by performances I don't just mean the actors. I'm talking about the director, and the set designers, and the editor, and the director of photography, and the sound mixers. These people, when given a story as well thought out as this, can create more than any amount of money or computers in the world. They create feeling, emotion, and intensity, and that is what this movie has. Alejandro Amenabar, the director of the equally haunting Open Your Eyes (recently remade as the disappointing Vanilla Sky), knows what scares us in a deeper, more primal, more emotional way. I, for one, love that feeling. It's not a "jump-out-of-your-seat" scared. It's the "what's-in-the-closet" type of scared of a 5 year old. With filmmaking like this, I'll be that scared 5 year old any night!