OLD
***
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Screenplay: M. Night Shyamalan, based on the graphic novel by Pierre Oscar Lévy and Frederik Peeters.
Principal cast:
Gael García Bernal
Vicky Krieps
Rufus Sewell
Abbey Lee
Thomasin McKenzie
Eliza Scanlen
Country: USA
Classification: M
Runtime: 108 mins.
Australian release date: 22 July 2021.
Shot in the Dominican Republic but set in an unnamed country, M. Night Shyamalan’s latest thriller, Old, is a creepy tale which, regrettably, has a few laugh-out-loud moments due to an occasionally clunky script. Like most of Shyamalan’s screenplays, it stems from a highly intriguing premise that is sometimes let down by its exposition; there are some silly lines and unlikely responses to strange events - for example, if you’d just aged significantly in half-an-hour, wouldn’t you notice the changes to your body, rather than having to rely on the shocked looks on the faces of others? Basing his story on a Swiss graphic novel called Sandcastle, Shyamalan takes his audience on a twisted journey involving a small group of holidaymakers thrown together under extraordinary circumstances.
Guy (Gael García Bernal) and Prisca (Vick Krieps) and their two children, Trent (Nolan River, Luca Faustino Rodriguez, Alex Wolff and Emun Elliott) and Maddox (Alexa Swinton, Thomasin McKenzie and Embeth Davidtz), are looking forward to their holiday at the luxury Anamika Resort. At breakfast the day after their arrival they are approached by the hotel manager and invited to go to a private beach. Believing they have been singled out because they come across as a “nice family”, they are a little surprised to find another couple, Charles (Rufus Sewell) and Chrystal (Abbey Lee), together with Charles’s mum Agnes and their little girl Kara (Kyle Bailey, Mikaya Fisher and Eliza Scanlen), plus a couple of others on board the hotel bus (driven by M. Night Shyamalan himself). When the group arrives at the idyllic, remote spot, they set themselves up for a day of sunbathing and swimming but it quickly becomes apparent that something is wrong. Rusty cutlery and other objects from the hotel are found buried in the sand, a dead body is floating in one of the channels leading to the sea, and something even more sinister starts to occur – they begin to age dramatically, especially the children. Stunned by what is happening to them, the various characters all react in a variety of ways as events escalate and they try to find out what is going on and how to get the hell outta there.
The seaside location is absolutely beautiful, although Mike Gioulakis’s camera keeps the focus tight, which makes the sense of ‘trouble in paradise’ even more ominous. At first glance, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Old was filmed on a beach in Queensland, because there is a strong contingent of Antipodean actors: Eliza Scanlen from Babyteeth and Little Women, Abbey Lee from Mad Max: Fury Road and 1%, and Thomasin McKenzie from Leave No Trace and Jojo Rabbit, all have key roles in the drama. Scanlen and McKenzie are two of the 10 actors of various ages who play the children as they grow older, whereas the adults age via clever use of make-up. The large ensemble cast sometimes makes it difficult to entirely empathise with the characters’ predicament, as the action moves rapidly from one to another, and the film might have been improved by having fewer people involved. Rufus Sewell’s mad doctor role is particularly problematic.
The writer/director has said of his movie, “I wanted it to feel like you’re watching a two-hour Twilight Zone episode - which I love, the weirdness, trying to understand what’s happening. With Old, I never wanted the audience to feel safe. I wanted the audience to be figuring out one thing, now another and another and another, like the characters in the movie.” For the most part, he has succeeded; Old may not the best film dealing with extraordinary events but it does contain enough moments to keep you guessing and its denouement is satisfying, successfully tying up the plot’s loose elements.
Screenplay: M. Night Shyamalan, based on the graphic novel by Pierre Oscar Lévy and Frederik Peeters.
Principal cast:
Gael García Bernal
Vicky Krieps
Rufus Sewell
Abbey Lee
Thomasin McKenzie
Eliza Scanlen
Country: USA
Classification: M
Runtime: 108 mins.
Australian release date: 22 July 2021.
Shot in the Dominican Republic but set in an unnamed country, M. Night Shyamalan’s latest thriller, Old, is a creepy tale which, regrettably, has a few laugh-out-loud moments due to an occasionally clunky script. Like most of Shyamalan’s screenplays, it stems from a highly intriguing premise that is sometimes let down by its exposition; there are some silly lines and unlikely responses to strange events - for example, if you’d just aged significantly in half-an-hour, wouldn’t you notice the changes to your body, rather than having to rely on the shocked looks on the faces of others? Basing his story on a Swiss graphic novel called Sandcastle, Shyamalan takes his audience on a twisted journey involving a small group of holidaymakers thrown together under extraordinary circumstances.
Guy (Gael García Bernal) and Prisca (Vick Krieps) and their two children, Trent (Nolan River, Luca Faustino Rodriguez, Alex Wolff and Emun Elliott) and Maddox (Alexa Swinton, Thomasin McKenzie and Embeth Davidtz), are looking forward to their holiday at the luxury Anamika Resort. At breakfast the day after their arrival they are approached by the hotel manager and invited to go to a private beach. Believing they have been singled out because they come across as a “nice family”, they are a little surprised to find another couple, Charles (Rufus Sewell) and Chrystal (Abbey Lee), together with Charles’s mum Agnes and their little girl Kara (Kyle Bailey, Mikaya Fisher and Eliza Scanlen), plus a couple of others on board the hotel bus (driven by M. Night Shyamalan himself). When the group arrives at the idyllic, remote spot, they set themselves up for a day of sunbathing and swimming but it quickly becomes apparent that something is wrong. Rusty cutlery and other objects from the hotel are found buried in the sand, a dead body is floating in one of the channels leading to the sea, and something even more sinister starts to occur – they begin to age dramatically, especially the children. Stunned by what is happening to them, the various characters all react in a variety of ways as events escalate and they try to find out what is going on and how to get the hell outta there.
The seaside location is absolutely beautiful, although Mike Gioulakis’s camera keeps the focus tight, which makes the sense of ‘trouble in paradise’ even more ominous. At first glance, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Old was filmed on a beach in Queensland, because there is a strong contingent of Antipodean actors: Eliza Scanlen from Babyteeth and Little Women, Abbey Lee from Mad Max: Fury Road and 1%, and Thomasin McKenzie from Leave No Trace and Jojo Rabbit, all have key roles in the drama. Scanlen and McKenzie are two of the 10 actors of various ages who play the children as they grow older, whereas the adults age via clever use of make-up. The large ensemble cast sometimes makes it difficult to entirely empathise with the characters’ predicament, as the action moves rapidly from one to another, and the film might have been improved by having fewer people involved. Rufus Sewell’s mad doctor role is particularly problematic.
The writer/director has said of his movie, “I wanted it to feel like you’re watching a two-hour Twilight Zone episode - which I love, the weirdness, trying to understand what’s happening. With Old, I never wanted the audience to feel safe. I wanted the audience to be figuring out one thing, now another and another and another, like the characters in the movie.” For the most part, he has succeeded; Old may not the best film dealing with extraordinary events but it does contain enough moments to keep you guessing and its denouement is satisfying, successfully tying up the plot’s loose elements.
