Rated PG-13 for strong violence, disturbing images, suggestive content, partial nudity and brief strong language.
At a luxurious resort on a tropical island, the Cappa family, husband Guy (Gael García Bernal), wife Prisca (Vicky Krieps), and their two children Trent and Maddox, are enjoying a fun vacation even as their family is crumbling to pieces. Per a recommendation from the resort’s director, they are led to a secluded beach, along with some other guests, for some much needed relaxation. But their peace is disrupted when a dead body washes up on shore. This is only the beginning, as they realize that the children of the group are suddenly much older than when they arrived. Something about the beach is causing anyone and anything that enters it to age rapidly, and all their attempts to leave result in them blacking out. There’s something bigger going on involving them, and they’ll have to figure out what it is if they want to make it out alive. Old is the latest film from director M. Night Shyamalan. After 14 movies of varying sub-genres and overall quality, he seems to have found his niche in low-budget supernatural thrillers with mystery elements that often end with a plot twist. Yes, he has made some truly terrible movies in his career, but in my opinion, his good movies (like The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable) are so good that they make up for the major missteps. While his movies all have faults like terrible dialogue and shaky performances from their sometimes veteran casts, his good films are often defined by how good his storytelling is. This is where he typically succeeds. He’s able to craft a genuinely compelling and imaginative narrative, even when his characters typically don’t act or talk like normal human beings. I mean, there’s one character in this film who’s out-of-place lines about The Missouri Breaks are almost on par with a character’s random praise of hot dogs in The Happening. These strengths and faults are all present in Old, which may very well be his best film since The Visit. It certainly ranks among his best, and it feels like the appropriate next level for his filmmaking craft. A lot of this comes from the setting. Most of his movies are set in and around his home city of Philadelphia. This is one of his few films that doesn’t, and it adds a fresh new flavor to his style. He also manages to get some great performances out of his ensemble cast. Even if their behavior and dialogue aren’t always normal, the cast all get their moments to shine. They are all able to embody their roles in ways that make us care for them and hope that they make it out of the situation alive. I have to give major credit to the various actors and actresses that play the characters Trent and Maddox. Since they are kids aging up rapidly to adults throughout the story, they all do a good job standing in for their respective ages while still maintaining the mentality of the ages they started at. This is especially true for Alex Wolff and Thomasin McKenzie, who are continuing to prove how talented they are after film’s like Hereditary and Jojo Rabbit respectively. This also has to be one of Shyamalan’s most terrifying films yet. He’s always been able to wring effective tension out of the simplest of situations. Terror is one of his biggest strengths, and there are multiple moments that are genuinely frightening. The movie uses digital and practical effects, as well as the film’s picturesque setting, to create effect scenes that may get you watching between your fingers. If there’s one fault I can find with the movie, it’s that Shyamalan’s signature twist doesn’t quite stick the landing. While it does feel unexpected, the way the movie executes it doesn’t make it feel like a shocking subversion of what we’ve seen. It’s more like a dull, “that’s just how it is.” As a result, the ending feels a bit underwhelming, especially when the conclusion tends to over-explain how it all comes together. With a new setting that adds a fresh layer to his signature formula, Old ranks among M. Night Shyamalan’s best films. He once again shows that, despite still being unable to write great character dialogue, his ability to tell a story, build a believable world, and create tense/terrifying sequences far surpass any faults his film’s might have. At least when he has a good enough story to tell, and this is certainly one of them.
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Rated PG-13 for strong violence, drug material throughout, sexual content and some strong language.
Now Playing In Theaters and Streaming on HBO Max Until September 19 In a near future Miami, climate change has caused half the city to become submerged under the ocean and the populace to become nocturnal due to the high temperatures. Because of how grim things look, society has chosen to look back at the past rather than look towards the future. Nostalgia is a booming industry, and that’s where former scientist Nick Bannister (Hugh Jackman) makes his living. Nick, along with his assistant Watts (Thandiwe Newton), run a business where clients are put into a machine that transports them into memories, while what they see is projected for Nick to witness as he guides them through their minds. It’s a rather mundane job for them until a new client comes in the door, a mysterious woman named Mae (Rebecca Ferguson). A simple job for her ends up sparking a relationship between her and Nick. But just as quickly as their love begin, it came to an end. Nick is obsessed with finding Mae, truly believing she loved him while Watts believes she was just playing him. He makes it his mission to find out what happened to her. However, the more he digs up, the more he finds Mae imbedded in the local crime ring. He starts to wonder if he really knew Mae, and his quest will lead him to discover a mind-bending truth. Reminiscence, the feature directorial debut of Westworld co-creator Lisa Joy, works off a lot of familiar ingredients. It’s setting of a world ravaged by climate, poverty, and corporate greed is noting new and clearly making a statement about how the world is today. It’s also trying to make a statement about our current obsession with nostalgia and how addictive the past can be. It’s not very novel, and if the last few years have taught us anything, very few are really going to take these messages to heart. But despite these familiar elements, Reminiscence deserves to be judged on its own merits. On its own, it’s a near-perfect modern reinvention of the film-noir that’s visually stunning, packed with great performances, and has a mystery that literally had me on the edge of my seat by the end. For someone like me who loves old fashioned noir mysteries, this movie did a great job updating the style for modern audiences. Lisa Joy nails every element that is synonymous with the classic genre, from the mysterious femme-fatale that sends the detective on his mission, to the internal monologue that Jackman’s character gives throughout, and even the musical score. Many aspects of the film feel right out of the era of noir despite being set in a dystopian future. It feels very much like a classic detective story in line with films like The Maltese Falcon. It’s all headlined by a great cast, led by a typically fantastic Hugh Jackman. At this point, it’s not to surprising that, even if the movie isn’t the greatest, Jackman gives a gripping performance in his role. Like the film himself, his portrayal of Nick Bannister feels reminiscent of the brooding detectives of classic noir while putting a fresh, modern spin on it, and he really nails it. He’s just so perfect for the material. Joy also brings her world to life with some amazing visual details that also combine looks of the past with looks of the future. The production design makes the future Miami look more like an alternate 1930s. This really helps to establish the film’s intention of being a modern noir. There’s also just loads of little details and fun easter eggs that show how society has changed in keeping with the world’s new challenges. This is definitely one to see in IMAX while you have the chance. This is the kind of film where the details require as big a screen as possible to let yourself get lost. The more you watch, the more the world around you gets washed away and all you see is the immense and gorgeous world of the film. Movies like this are meant to be immersive. That’s what the theater experience is all about, and this movie is made to be seen in a theater. Reminiscence takes a classic, bygone film genre and successfully updates it for a more modern audience, while still staying in touch with what made it work in the first place. It’s a great mystery that really keeps you guessing, and even if it does sometimes play out in predictable ways, Joy’s screenplay has enough surprises to keep it sufficiently thrilling. Hopefully this sparks a new wave of noir films, because this shows that the genre still has places to go even after existing for nearly a century. |