Last night I visited with what is without question one of the modern era’s greatest contributions to scary movies: Alejandro Amenebar’s 2001 Nicole Kidman led ghost story “The Others.”
This is a great film, and I don’t think you can set the mood for October better than you can with this film. The desolate mansions in the Welsh countryside, the lone graves, what lies in weight in that creepy old house, the music—all incredible. The script is fantastic, and so smart, and led by a cast of brilliant actors, with the great Nicole Kidman delivering one of her best performances as a woman trying to keep her children safe on her own after the war. The young actress Alakina Mann is also incredible beyond her years as Kidman’s daughter Anne, who’s performance has such wicked sass, and biting comedic timing.
Like other films we’ve visited this October, “The Others” has plot developments that stand on their own—and even deepen—upon repeated viewings. This script is so tight, with not a word or scene or dark corner wasted. Rounding out the great cast is Fionnula Flanagan as Bertha Mills, one of the new old servants who come to the aid of the house. The character work her between Kidman, her children, and the servants who show up one day to help is so good on, on so many levels.
Good ghost stories are hard to come by. They have been told for time immemorial, and rarely does a great modern work like “The Others,” come along. This film is absolutely one I have watched countless Octobers, and will watch countless more.
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