Writer-director Alejandro Amenábar sets this ghost story in a cavernous, fog-bound mansion on the isle of Jersey toward the end of WWII. Grace (Nicole Kidman) is a high-strung, domineering mother with red-rimmed eyes that seem constantly on the verge of tears, looking after her two small children, the rebellious Anne (Alakina Mann) and Nicholas (James Bentley), and waiting to hear the fate of her soldier husband. A mysterious trio of servants (led by the wonderful Fionnula Flanagan) emerges from the fog to replace the servants who have inexplicably fled the house. Then Anne starts to see ghosts.
Actually, this is more of a reverse-ghost story. Rather than the traditional horror movie, where people fling open curtains and doors to escape their terrors, here an open curtain provokes shrieks of fear from the children, and a door even slightly ajar is ominous. Grace insists that her children, who look somewhat like ghosts themselves, are allergic to light, so they can never be around any light more powerful than a candle (which gives Amenábar a leg up in creating a spooky atmosphere). This is the kind of scary movie that I like (and that frightens me the most) -- it doesn't get its chills from gore or contrived false alarms, but from ambiance, well-plotted tension, and psychological strain. A scene where the fog closes in around Grace stops your breath in your throat.
Nicole Kidman is the center of this psychological torment, and she's terrific. She makes it obvious, without histrionics, that Grace is walking a fine line between sanity and psychosis as she restlessly paces around her mansion in her buttoned-up, repressive dress, obsessively keeping her children in darkened rooms. The child actors are good as well, never slipping into cutesy simpering.
This is the rare movie whose ending not only fits with the rest
of the
film, but fulfills it. Though it's a "twist" ending, it doesn't
feel
gimmicky or contrived; in fact, it feels satisfying. Highly
recommended
-- but bring someone to grab onto.
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