The Others - Lisa's Reviews

This is a movie that I have watched quite a few times, but one where I forget the finer details, so I watch it with 'almost fresh eyes each time.  So after yet another watch, on to the review.

The Others stars Nicole Kidman as a conservative, religious woman called Grace, widowed by war, who lives in a a large isolated house with her 2 children Anne and Nicholas.  The children suffer from a condition which means they are light sensitive so all the windows and possible sources of light are covered, making for a very dark and dreary home, hence giving us the mood for the movie.



Breaking their monotony, 3 new servants arrive at the house.   An aging nanny called Bertha, a young mute servant girl called Lydia and an elderly gardener called Edmund.    The arrival of the new staff seems to coincide with strange happenings in the home.  Noise is heard to come from within locked rooms, which are subsequently unlocked and found to be empty.  Footsteps and general noise is often heard in areas where the family know no-one is present.  Due to the childrens severe light sensitivity, Grace is very vigilant about doors being closed, or even in some cases locked.  All of a sudden doors are found open, which Grace knows she locked.  Something is clearly not as it should be.

As we all know noises and unusual happenings can always be explained away, but alongside these new occurances, Graces daughter Anne starts to draw pictures of people who she says she has seen in the house. She is adament and can even give a name to the young boy she has seen.  He is called Victor.  Grace is torn between chastising her daughter for believing in ghosts and fear for the evidence she herself has witnessed, yet can't explain away.

Feeling there is something unholy in her house, Grace leaves her children with the servants (who it is clear are not what they seem to be, but as yet, we - the viewer cannot quite put our finger on it) in search of a priest to cleanse the house.  While lost in a heavy fog, Grace comes across her supposedly dead husband Charles, who is somewhat confused and doesn't seem himself.  She brings him back to the house, only for him to leave again for the front line after a day at home.

Things go from bad to worse.  Grace has hallucinations that her daughter is really an old woman and attacks her.  She wakes up one morning to find the covers off all the windows and hears her children screaming.  While desperately trying to keep the light out, she asks the servants to help, but they refuse.  She realises then that they are somehow involved in everything that has been going on, but doesn't know how.

The rest of the movie deals with uncovering who the servants actually are, the answer to what really happened to Graces husband Charles and who is responsible for the noises within the house.  I have probably said no more than would be evident from a good trailer, so anyone who has not yet watched the movie, shouldn't find too many spoilers here.

I liked this movie and enjoyed the final reveal and it is not something I had guessed.  It opens interesting questions to anyone who believes there may be more out there and is mildly entertaining to those who don't.  I will give this movie a recommended as I do feel it is worth a watch.  Nicole Kidman is great and portrays the prim, somewhat cold, religious Grace perfectly.  The cinematography and work put into the set and its effects is excellent.  I think the fact I have viewed this movie several times and still enjoy it, warrants a recommended from me.