I Prefer the Other

It's hard not to compare the Alejandro Amenabar's movie The Others (2001) to M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense (1999), since in both cases the story is told from the point of view of the ghost who doesn't know he/she is a ghost. In my opinion, though, where Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense was, perhaps, his crowning achievement, The Others was not nearly as successful.

To be fair, I have to admit that my opinion is likely biased by my intense dislike of Nicole Kidman.

(Warning: Nicole Kidman rant about to begin)

I have never been a fan of Kidman's and have honestly avoided watching this movie for years because of it. I have only ever seen one movie with her in it where her lack of acting ability did not completely ruin the movie for me. That movie was Moulin Rouge, and the other reason that movie wasn't ruined for me was because Ewan McGregor was amazing.

My primary problem with Kidman is this:



It's that expression.


You know which expression I'm talking about.




Because with only minor variations,

it's the only one she has.

It drives me insane. Every movie I see her in, I end up paying more attention to her lack of facial expression than I do to the movie. It's total distraction.

(End rant)

I'm guessing, though, that our job was not to critique Kidman's acting, or lack there of (although I think it is a valid criticism when it becomes a distraction from the actual storyline). Unfortunately, I think the movie fell short in a few other ways as well.

Although I thought the rest of the acting was quite good (I particularly enjoyed Fionnula Flanagan--I think she has an incredible knack for playing the sweet, yet somehow slightly threatening, grandmotherly type--and Alakina Mann as young Anne Stewart), I felt that much of the mood of the story was somewhat contrived. The pulling of the drapes, the locking of the doors, and other odd little rituals all centered around this incredibly rare disorder that these children supposedly just happen to have. Even the "reveal" at the end centered around it. It felt "gimmicky." I was especially disappointed in the explanation of the door shutting. It was such a great detail and added so much suspense, I thought for sure it had something to do with keeping "the others" out. When it turned out to be nothing more than another precaution due to the children, I felt completely let down. I really think the storyline could have stood on its own. It was a good idea; it didn't need the gimmick to make it work. This random rare disease cheapened the plot.

There were other things I didn't really understand either. What was the point of the husband returning? I know he said he came to say "goodbye," but why? Maybe I missed something in the dialogue that explained that, but I didn't quite "get it." To me, it seemed like it was also gimmicky. He died in battle, she could see him, so she must be dead too. Okay, fine. I see why that might be used, but then why have him leave? It just didn't make sense. Another part that, in retrospect, did not make sense was when Grace saw Anne in her communion dress and thought Anne was the old crone. If Grace and Anne had been the living and the house was haunted by OTHER spirits, I could understand. But Grace and Anne were the ghosts. So, why was she hallucinating? Was that another ghost? I really wasn't sure of the purpose of that scene once the reveal was made.

Which brings me to the last point. I was not fooled by the twist. When I first saw The Sixth Sense, I was totally shocked by the end. I never saw it coming. With this one I knew the first time the children mentioned the time their mother went crazy (or did the bad thing... or however it was said). Maybe that's in part because of The Sixth Sense. Maybe I have become jaded and am better at looking for the hints than I was 10 years ago when I first saw The Sixth Sense, but being able to figure it out less than half way through took a bit of the wind out of the movie's already moth-eaten sails.

On the positive side, I really did think the plotline itself was quite good, and I liked the idea of the living being the interlopers. The movie was not horrible, but it's not one I would automatically recommend to someone asking for my opinion of a good ghost story. I'd stick with The Sixth Sense.