Film Review - The Others

Film Review - The Others 

In the beginning of the film they get told all the blinds must be shut at all times because of the children, they have an allergy to light apparently. The maid is then in the kitchen with the children and they start arguing about the mother and how last time she went mad. 

This is the first tip you get that the person that is starting to look slightly suspicious is the mother.

About quarter/half way through the film you find out that the little girl has been seeing a boy around the house but the mother doesn't believe this, it then carries on and the mother believe that there is someone in the house. 

After this the little girl does a drawing of the people she has seen and mentions that she has been a mother, father and a little boy called victor and then an old woman which she calls a witch. This is the introduction of a the other main characters of the film. The main evil woman I thought at the beginning was the mother but turns out half way through that it is the family that lived in the house before and this old woman the little girl calls a witch.

She then finds a photo album of what looks like the family before hers, where it is full of photo's of the dead which is what they used to do in Victorian times which is meant to let the spirit pass on. All these little things they have put into this film all add up to the creepiness of it and I think that is what this film is built on, it builds a story and at the end it all makes sense.

Towards the end of the film the staff become more and more suspicious like they are planning something, by this time we haven't heard anymore about this weird family that are living in the house accept from when the daughter looked like the old woman, towards the end it focuses more on the main character which is the mother. She starts acting very crazy and everyone is treating her that way which doesn't help, she starts to act very freaked out and panicking.

In the end it turns out that the staff was dead all along and were trying to tell her about the house and that everyone in it was ghosts, they were trying to take the house back from them. The old woman that we saw a drawing of in the beginning comes back and tries to take the children by saying come and join us.
This is the first time you see her the ghost of this old lady which is the scariest character so far in the film, she has white curly/waved hair and wrinkly pale skin. The main part of this look is the wrinkles on the face and the eyes which are white with no puple. This creates a reaction from the audience because of the eyes because she doesn't look human, this links her to the fact she is dead in reality.

At the end of this film there is a twist that the mother was the evil bad character out of all this and came to light that she killed the children in one of the rooms in the house with a pillow. This came to light when woman that was said to be a witch all along were the ones that were really alive. This has such a twist to it because it changes it around to be the family that are all dead.
The real people that are alive say that the woman went mad smothered her two children with a pillow and shot herself. The whole time it was all her and in her head.

I wrote out some questions for myself to answer to help me understand the characters profile.

The Mother: 

Appearance: How is the character presented visually via facial look, body shape and costuming? What do these attributes suggest about the character?

-At the beginning of the film her makeup is very basic, light foundation, pale looking eyebrows and lips look like they haven't got anything on. The main thing that stands out to me when you first see her character is that she has very pale skin.

Her body shape is very slim and slender which is shown by the tight corset, with a dress which covers everything up to the neck to the wrists. 

Further into the film her hair starts to be slightly more loose which shows a slightly softer look to her appearance but also shows more of a vulnerable side. 

You also see a scene where she is crying and he looks very tired and run down because of everything that has happened she almost looks like she cant take any more of it. Maybe on the brink of going crazy like the children said in the beginning. 

After she gets a scare from the ghosts half way through the film there is a scene where she is talking to the maid and her whole look as dramatically changed. She now looks very run down, her hair is very messy curly not brushed, her eyes are bloodshot and very red, her skin is also very unmade up so she has slightly red patches on her cheeks and nose.

Towards the end her hair is very looking very rugged and unbrushed, she has extremely pale skin and crazy look in her eyes, they are very bloodshot and red. 

Voice: How do the character’s words and voice help to establish the character? What does it suggest about the character

-In the beginning of the film she is talking to the new maid in a very stern and controlling voice. This shows that she has a lot of power and control over herself and others around her. She also talks down to people slightly by treating them as slightly lower class than herself.

Her tone of voice gets slightly softer when she opens up the new maid and shows a vulnerable side to herself. 

Half way through she has a scare by the ghosts in the house and her voice then changes to being very whispery and stutters, almost sounds like she doesn't believe what she's saying. 
Her voice changes towards the end being very loud and screechy, and sounds very out of control and panicky.

Action: How do the character’s actions and behaviours help to establish the character? What other personal traits are evident? 

-In the beginning of the film her actions make her look slightly over protective mother which has some sort of secret but you cant tell what it is in the slightest. You can also tell that she is very very religious person when she is talking to the kids about where children go when they lie and the kids know all the different hells off by heart. This shows that she might believe in things that aren't actually real. 

She starts to be very jumpy and hesitant half way through the film once she thinks there is people in the house,  she then starts acting very out of character compared to herself in the beginning. 

Towards the end of the film she starts to act crazy by seeing an old woman as her daughter, and attacks her daughter. Everyone thinks she's crazy.

Role: How does the character relate to the other characters? What effects does the character’s behaviour have? Describe the character’s role in the overall storyline.

-The role she has in the beginning is a very controlling mother which her children almost seem scared of in some points. She also has a big authority over the staff which have turned up for work and doesn't take talk back to her, which shows it's her way only. 

The role of this character changes thought out the film, she comes across in the beginning as very in control of her life and everyone in it. But then things in the house start to happen and she now shows a more vulnerable side to herself as you are introduced to the family which are made out to be ghosts in the house as well, which are tormenting her and the family. 
In the end you find out the big twist to the story that all along the family and the mother were the ghosts in the house no the other way round.

How the setting has an effect on the audience?

-The location in the beginning of the film shows a huge old house in the country side, which is slightly run down and very dusty and worn. Straight away this creates a slight eerie mood to the film.

The film is mainly set in darkness because of the children condition to light, this means it makes the audiences minds wonder because there isn't so much to focus on. Also in normal horror films its always at night when the scary things happen, in this film is constantly night because all the blinds are always shut. 
You also see parts of the garden which are covered in fog, which also add to the atmosphere. Creates an eerie look to the gardens which also have graves which have the staffs names on them. 

Over all from watching this film it has really helped me understand the woman role in some horrors I have seen as well as this one that normally they are either ghosts like the old lady in this film or they are metal and go crazy. These are the two main things you will find in scary films if the main villain is a woman. 
I think this will really help me develop my character for Mr Laderman because i would like to take a few things from a few of the main characters, for example in my story i have added on to Bate Motel is that she used to own the house which she got thrown out of which made her go slightly crazy as well as being ill, the main thing i noticed of the mother which is the one that went crazy was the eyes. I really like the veins in the eyes being visible, and also the the redness under the eyes to show she's tired and hasn't got much sleep, I think I will be using this for my character for Mrs Laderman. I would also like to take features from the old lady that we saw in the film where she is wrinkled and paled skin I think this would also add to my characters profile of being the evil villain in my story.