December 12, 2011 by Naomi

Review: The Others

Words by Naomi Jefferys

“Now children, are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin…This story started many thousands of years ago, and it was all over in just 7 days.”

The opening lines to Alejandro Amenabar’s brilliant The Others. The film has a stellar cast, with Christopher Eccelstone, Eric Sykes and Nicole Kidman taking on the title role of Grace Stewart, a catholic mother who lives in a remote country house in Jersey with her children. The new arrival of three servants, an elderly gardener, a young mute girl and an aging nanny and servant.

The film is basically a Haunted House thriller, with a surprising twist. Amenabar is able to create a dreamy, timeless atmosphere. Unlike typical scary films which rely on special effects and a big budget. Amenabar is able to create a film which involves a normal, frightened woman in a disturbing situation.

Nicole Kidman carries the film, the audience literally sees her sanity and her life unfolding. The events are so elusive that I won’t even try to explain them, as I don’t want to give the game away. What is more, the film feels typically British. The setting is a grandiose with the house laced in oak doors and drawing rooms.

So, if you like atmospheric and spine tingling film which stars the brilliant Nicole Kidman and the equally excellent Christopher Eccelstone then rent it on DVD!

December 11, 2011 by Naomi

Review: Turn of the Screw (BBC Film)

Words by Naomi Jefferys

“There you are. We’ve been waiting for you”

The Turn of the Screw is a novella by Henry James which the BBC adapted in 2009. The story follows a Governess living and working in a beautiful house. She is the Governess of two ‘creepy’ blonde children, Miles and Flora. One of the many questions which the adaptation and the novella begs to ask is the question of madness and the devil.

Sandy Welch, the writer of the adaptation of the film decided to set it in the 1920s, instead of at the turn of the century how Henry James originally wrote it. The wound is still fresh for the soldiers in the mental asylum which Ann is forced to go to.

There are stellar performances, particularly from Michelle Dockery (otherwise known as Lady Mary Crawley in Downton Abbey) who carries the weight of the film on her shoulders. Her portrayal of Ann is brilliant, the film opens with Ann dishevelled in a mental asylum, so the entirety of the film is told in flashback form. So the contrast of a ‘mad’ woman at the start of the film, to a decidedly naïve portrayal throughout the rest of the film, this makes her downfall all the greater.

If you’re in to big budget, special effects horror films such as Saw or Scream 4 then don’t watch this film. The effects are simple, but utterly terrifying. It is creepy, horror cinema at its best.

So if you’re still yearning for Halloween to return and you’ve still got some Haribos left then give this film a watch!

December 10, 2011 by Naomi

Behind The Scenes: A bit of fun

We can all appreciate the tremendous spectacle that is a perfect performance on screen; what sometimes can be as interesting is the moments not captured on celluloid. Those glimpses into intimate environment of a dedicated group of people who work hard and long to produce some of our favorite cinematic achievements. This post is a tribute and a reminder that those we behold as greats and legends are human; though they have the ability to deliver us to new worlds this shows they clearly and firmly are planted on this one with us.