A One Mann’s Movies review of “Old” (2021).
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
“Old” is the latest from the gloriously inconsistent writer/director M. Night Shyamalan. Will this be great Shyamalan (à la “The Sixth Sense”) or dire Shyamalan (à la “The Last Airbender”)? The answer, in my view, is somewhere in the middle. It’s a curate’s egg of a movie.
The rapper ‘Mid-sized sedan” (Aaron Pierre) with Prisca (Vicky Krieps), Guy (Gael Garcia Bernal) and Chrystal (Abbey Lee). (Source: Universal Pictures).
Plot Summary:
Guy (Gael García Bernal) and Prisca (Vicky Krieps) are having marital difficulties. As a ‘last family holiday’ before divorcing they visit an exotic resort in the Dominican Republic with their kids Trent (Nolan River) and Maddox (Alexa Swinton).
Everything seems perfect at the resort. The helpful resort manager (Gustaf Hammarsten) arranges for the family and assorted other resort guests to visit a remote local beach. But this is a beach that keeps a time-turning secret. One that spells disaster for the visitors unless they can find a way to escape.
Some things are best left to the imagination. The shapely Madrid (Francesca Eastwood) from the inside out! (Source: Universal Pictures).
Certification:
Talent:
Starring: Gael García Bernal, Vicky Krieps, Rufus Sewell, Thomasin McKenzie, Abbey Lee, Ken Leung, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Eliza Scanlen, Alex Wolff, M. Night Shyamalan.
Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan.
Written by: M. Night Shyamalan (based on the graphic novel “Sandcastle” by Pierre-Oscar Lévy and Frederick Peeters).
“It’s behind you!” Nolan River as the 6-year old Trent. (Source: Universal Pictures).
“Old” Review:
Positives:
- The premise feels very familiar (desert island beach; time slips; weird things happening…. “Lost” anyone?). But as a shell for a big-screen adventure it kept me well-engaged.
- Shyamalan and his “Glass” cinematographer Mike Gioulakis use some novel techniques to portray the ageing effects. The angles they utilize feel quite Hitchcockian at times. Shyamalan supports this with the sound design, which makes this a REALLY good movie to watch in a cinema with good surround sound. Often the camera will be spinning showing nothing but ocean or rocks, with the character’s conversation rotating behind you in the cinema. It’s really quite effective.
- Shyamalan knows that no visual effects can improve on the horrors your mind can come up with. Although a ’15’ certificate, the “sustained threat, strong violence and injury detail” referenced by the BBFC pales into insignificance (in terms of what you actually see) compared to the equally rated “Freaky“.
- I’ve seen other reviews comment that the “twist” (no spoilers here) was obvious. But, although not a ground-breaking idea, I was sufficiently satisfied with the denouement. It made sense, albeit twisted sense.
Nope, not Nazis this time. The excellent Thomasin McKenzie reacts to a rather obvious ‘jolt’. (Source: Universal Pictures).
Negatives:
- I enjoyed the movie’s leisurely set-up, introducing the characters and the movie’s concept. (In many ways, it felt like the start of one of Irwin Allen‘s disaster movies of the 70’s and 80’s, with dodgy dialogue to match). But then Shyamalan turns the dial up to 11 and the action becomes increasingly farcical. Add into that the fact that you can see some of the ‘jolts’ coming a mile off, and the movie becomes progressively more disappointing, with a high ERQ (eye-rolling quotient) by the end.
- In particular, there are inconsistencies to the story that get you asking uncomfortable questions. For example, wounds can heal in the blink of an eye…. but not stab wounds apparently.
- The script is clunkingly bad: about as unnatural as the things going on on the screen! It makes you start to wonder if it was written deliberately bad?
- The cast is truly global in nature: Vicky (“Phantom Thread“) Krieps hails from Luxembourg; Bernal is Mexican; Sewell is a Brit; Amuka-Bird (“David Copperfield“) is Nigerian; Leung is American; Eliza Scanlan is an Aussie; and Thomasin McKenzie (so good in “Jojo Rabbit“, and good here too) is a Kiwi. But although it’s clearly quite natural that an exotic beach resort would attract guests from all over the world, the combination of accents here makes the whole thing, unfortunately, sound like a dodgy spaghetti western!
Cutting her rock-climbing ” Babyteeth “, “Little Woman” Eliza Scanlen climbs a cliff. (Source: Universal Pictures).
Summary Thoughts on “Old”:
‘Time’ and ‘ageing’ have of course been a popular movie topic for many years. I remember being both gripped and horrified by George Pal‘s wonderful 1960’s version of “The Time Machine” when Rod Taylor threw his machine into fast forward and the dead Morlock decomposed in front of his eyes! Ursula Andress did the same as the rapidly ageing Ayesha in 1965’s “She”. And, more recently and with better effects, Julian Glover did the same in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”.
Unfortunately, “Old” isn’t likely to join any of these classic movies in my consciousness. It’s a diverting enough movie, with fabulous views of the Dominican Republic (which the local tourist board will no doubt be delighted with). A “less is more” approach might have made this a classic. But unfortunately, that’s not what Shyamalan delivered here. Since what we get is a ‘Lost-lite’ with farcical elements.
And, by the way.
The movie that Charles (Rufus Sewell) refers to starring Jack Nicholson and Marlon Brando is “The Missouri Breaks”. It has a very unusual John Williams soundtrack, which I have on vinyl somewhere and is probably worth a few bob!
Trailer:
The trailer for “Old” is here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4U2pMRV9_k .
