The Mosley Review: Old
There seems to be a 2 sided coin that constantly gets flipped in the thriller film genre. On the heads side you have a story that is gripping, pulse pounding and sometimes terrifying. On the tails side you have a story that is ambitious, but leaves so many unanswered questions by the end. There are few filmmakers that can find that perfectly rounded coin, flip it and have it land on heads. This film’s director has had his named engraved on that coin and has carried it his entire film career. It landed on heads many times, but more recently it has landed on tails. This film had the unfortunate luck of landing on the spine of the coin and it never lands on a particular side. The film has a ambitious plot and I liked how it unfolded but somewhere along the way, it got repetitive and lost that charm. The story explores many themes and fun ideas, but it boils down to a dull end. I'm trying not spoil anything here but I will say that the main family, was the only interesting part of this film.
Vicky Krieps was great as Prisca Cappa and she was one of the more level headed characters of the film. I loved how strong and accepting she was of the circumstances. Gael Garcia Bernal played her husband Guy and I felt the chemistry and tension between them as they fought about their marriage and her condition. The children, as you can know, grow at an accelerated rate and all the actors that played them throughout their ages were excellent. Alex Wolff captures Trent's innocence and fast understanding of life at age 15 and Emun Elliott nails his weary soul at the adult age. Thomasin McKenzie was outstanding as Maddox at age 16 and she steals the film. Embeth Davidtz plays Maddox as an adult and her chemistry with Trent was excellent. Eliza Scanlen was great as Kara at age 15 and she had a very heartbreaking moment that explains the depth of the time rules on the beach. Rufus Sewell was excellent and scary as Charles and sets off the tension very strongly. Abby Lee was good as his wife Chrystal and she had a truly intense moment of body horror. Nikki Amuka-Bird was great as the psychologist Patricia Carmichael and I liked that she tried to keep everyone sane. Ken Leung was great as her husband Jarin and the 2 of them were perfect together. Aaron Pierre as Mid-Sized Sedan / Brendan was good as he tried to figure out what was happening. He had a great comment about aging that I think I was the only one that laughed the hardest at in the theater, while everybody else didn't get. That was great.
The score by Trevor Gureckis was truly fantastic and very tribal at times. It built the suspense and charged the more terrifying moments. The cinematography was gorgeous and I liked the choice of shots that showed the details of aging. The visual effects mixed with practical effects were amazing and subtle. M. Night Shyamalan has always done great with thrills and delivered a great story hook, but this film felt like it lost its steam half way through. Every possible option is explored, but the resolutions don't particularly feel fulfilling. Overall, I thought it was a decent thriller with fun ideas, but its in the lower to mid tier of his filmography. Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!
