Review: Versatile Kidman saves ‘The Others’

Max Jacobson

Friday, Aug. 10, 2001 | 9:21 a.m.

The Others

Grade: 2 1/2 stars

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Christopher Eccleston, Fionnula Flanagan and Elaine Cassidy.

Screenplay: Alejandro Amenabar.

Director: Alejandro Amenabar.

Rated: PG-13 for thematic elements and frightening moments.

Running time: 104 minutes.

One of the best indicators of a true star is the ability to carry a production, especially when things begin to lag. "The Others" is the latest star vehicle for the much-publicized and increasingly popular Nicole Kidman. It is also one more departure for the Australian-born actress, who probably received more notices of late for her breakup with Tom Cruise than for the entire body of her work.

Kidman has been busy, though, and her career appears to be blossoming without Cruise in her life. Since the release of "Eyes Wide Shut," a production for which she and Cruise spent two years on the set learning from master director Stanley Kubrick, she has played this summer an eye-opening musical role in "Moulin Rouge" and a protective, tortured mother in this film.

Versatility is fast becoming a Kidman trademark, yet despite striking natural beauty and distinctively delicate coloring -- she looks as though she'd melt into a puddle on a hot summer day -- she is far from a character player. Rather, she's that rare bird, a female matinee idol who actually has acting chops. Without her presence, in fact, "The Others" wouldn't be worth much more than a cursory glance. But with her, we manage to keep looking for most of the story.

The plot is derivative in the extreme; it's a combination of "The Haunting," "The Shining" and "The Sixth Sense" all rolled into one. Alejandro Amenabar's script is weak, but there are other admirable things besides Kidman going on here. One is the participation of Amenabar as the director (he uses his camera effectively and captures fear in the faces of his actors as well as any director in recent memory). Another is the positively spectral photography from cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe. The entire movie seems to have been shot in fog. There hasn't been a movie this dark since Kubrick made "Barry Lyndon" in the '70s.

The film takes place on the Isle of Jersey, an English-speaking island off the French coast. In reality, it was shot on the smaller island of Cantabrie, off Spain's fogbound Atlantic Coast. Either way, the only weather this place ever gets is fog. The better to scare you with, my dear.

And scare you "The Others" will. Amenabar manages to make you jump out of your chair one or two times without ever showing blood or violence. Similar to a Hitchcock film, where most of the suspense is either psychological or achieved by clever editing, effects here are enhanced by the creepy weather, a terrific-looking Victorian house (with enough closets for an entire colony of ghosts) and nothing more complicated than the dilation of Kidman's pupils. It's a film for the kids, if you don't mind having the bejesus scared out of them.

The plot, without giving too much away: Kidman plays Grace, a young woman who awakes with fits, starts and screams in a large mansion. Her unfortunate husband Charles (the sunken-faced Christopher Eccleston) has gone off to war and not returned, leaving his wife to raise their two children, Anne (Alakina Mann) and Nicholas (James Bentley), all by herself.

A mysterious trio of servants appears, led by the kindly but ominous Mrs. Mills (veteran Irish actress Fionnula Flannagan.) Even though Grace has no memory of the trio, they seem to know their way around the house, and a terrifying series of events unfolds. Ghosts manifest themselves in the vast chambers of the house, amid creaking doors, pianos playing Chopin in the middle of the night and children appearing in the guise of wizened, witch-like apparitions.

Eventually it leads to a climax that would have been truly chilling had we not seen it all before. Various members of the audience were verbally predicting what was going to happen at the end, and many of them got it right. "The Sixth Sense" gave its audience a real kick in the teeth at the finish. This movie only manages a mild nudge.

Still, there is something to be said for old wine in a new bottle, particularly if the wine is pretty good to begin with. And you have a Kidman to share it with.

Max Jacobson covers the food industry and writes movie reviews for the Sun. Reach him at max@vegas.com or 990-2454.