Richard Stoker is being buried. He leaves behind his daughter, India(Wasikowska, quiet and restrained, with a hidden passion
you can't take your eyes off hers) and widow Evelyn(Kidman, resentful). But they won't be the only two residents of the family home for long. Uncle Charlie(Goode, equally devious and handsome) appears, out of nowhere, and moves in. Not only does this strain some already bad relationships
isn't there also something strange going on?
This is a polarizing one. You love it or hate it. It's difficult to argue for either side. Because on one hand, this is a beautifully filmed, edited, scored, acted(such subtlety) movie, creepy, full of suspense and tension leading to brutal violence, with a mystery that is gripping until the flat, climax-less ending that takes a lot away as we learn the truth and the symbolism, great, though there's also a bit too much of it. On the other, the story doesn't flow, we never fully understand the characters or scenes(which stop suddenly, or start midway into a conversation), and ultimately, while it is well-told, the plot is not as complex as it may seem at first.
It matters a lot what mindset you go into it with. You should probably know something about director Park Chan-Wook, most known for Oldboy, the Vengeance Trilogy(which I have yet to watch, but they are on my list), going in. He doesn't seem to have been compromised by Hollywood, albeit the language barrier may have impacted the final product. It's very much a slow burn. It owes debts to De Palma, Lynch, Burton, and, especially, Hitchcock – without any of them being ripped off. As the first script by Wentworth Miller, this is good, and I hope he keeps working on that this shows promise.
The Blu-Ray comes with the well-done 28 minute featurette Stoker: A Filmmaker's Journey, 16 minute interesting Theatrical Behind The Scenes, 15 and a half minutes of worthwhile Red Carpet Interviews, 10 minutes of good deleted(well, extended) scenes, a great 5 minute musical performance, slick trailers and TV spots(note that they contain big spoilers), and dozens of gripping stills in the Image Gallery, and a bunch from London Theater Design.
In addition to what I've already mentioned, there is some nudity and sexuality(and a lot of sensuality) and breaking of taboos in this. I recommend this to anyone who can imagine themselves liking this. 7/10
This is a polarizing one. You love it or hate it. It's difficult to argue for either side. Because on one hand, this is a beautifully filmed, edited, scored, acted(such subtlety) movie, creepy, full of suspense and tension leading to brutal violence, with a mystery that is gripping until the flat, climax-less ending that takes a lot away as we learn the truth and the symbolism, great, though there's also a bit too much of it. On the other, the story doesn't flow, we never fully understand the characters or scenes(which stop suddenly, or start midway into a conversation), and ultimately, while it is well-told, the plot is not as complex as it may seem at first.
It matters a lot what mindset you go into it with. You should probably know something about director Park Chan-Wook, most known for Oldboy, the Vengeance Trilogy(which I have yet to watch, but they are on my list), going in. He doesn't seem to have been compromised by Hollywood, albeit the language barrier may have impacted the final product. It's very much a slow burn. It owes debts to De Palma, Lynch, Burton, and, especially, Hitchcock – without any of them being ripped off. As the first script by Wentworth Miller, this is good, and I hope he keeps working on that this shows promise.
The Blu-Ray comes with the well-done 28 minute featurette Stoker: A Filmmaker's Journey, 16 minute interesting Theatrical Behind The Scenes, 15 and a half minutes of worthwhile Red Carpet Interviews, 10 minutes of good deleted(well, extended) scenes, a great 5 minute musical performance, slick trailers and TV spots(note that they contain big spoilers), and dozens of gripping stills in the Image Gallery, and a bunch from London Theater Design.
In addition to what I've already mentioned, there is some nudity and sexuality(and a lot of sensuality) and breaking of taboos in this. I recommend this to anyone who can imagine themselves liking this. 7/10