The Little Stranger

Something of an emotional roller coaster. None of the characters are quite what they seem to be, it's almost as if they culture some hope and then dash it to the ground just as the viewer is lulled into a hope of a happy concluson to that particular scene.

Gradually the superficial character of each key player is stripped away to reveal something unexpected about them. The good become villains, and sometimes good again. The supposed villains revealed to be good or just victims of some unseen manipulator.

The story does come to an end. It's not one of those sadistic films where you're left wondering what the hell just happened, but you are left placing the last few pieces of the puzzle together for yourself .

If you're looking for whizz-bang special effect laden offerings that require nothing more than propping your eyelids open for a couple of hours, then look to Hollywood.

British horror/mystery has led the world in high quality intellectually stimulating film making over the last few years, and this is another superb offering that rests well with the likes of "Dark Song" and "Apostle".

Greetings again from the darkness. Director Lenny Abrahamson's follow up to his stellar film ROOM (Oscar nominated for Best Picture and Best Director) is based on Sarah Waters graphic novel, and adapted for the screen by Lucinda Coxon (THE DANISH GIRL). Very early on, the film succeeds in giving viewers that "I have a bad feeling" sensation ... usually a very good sign for films in this genre.

The always excellent Domhnall Gleeson stars as Faraday, the local town doctor called out to check on the lone remaining housekeeper at Hundreds Hall. For a couple hundred years, it's been the Ayres family home, and though, in its past, a glorious fixture among Britain's elite, the home, grounds and family themselves are all now little more than a distant memory of their once great selves. When he was a mere lad, Faraday's mum had served on staff, and his memories of the grand palace are jolted by the sight of its current dilapidated state.

The Ayres family now consists of Charlotte Rampling as the matriarch who has yet to move past the death of her beloved daughter Susan so many years ago; Will Poulter as Roderick, the son who was disfigured and maimed during the war; and Ruth Wilson as surviving daughter Caroline, who seems to have surrendered any semblance of life in order to care for her mother, brother, and home ... each in various stages of ill-repair.

This is a strange family who mostly keep to themselves, well, except for Faraday who seems drawn to the family ... or is it the house? Even his romantic interest in Caroline could be seen as an excuse to regularly return to the house. His flashbacks to childhood and a festival held on the estate grounds provide glimpses of his connection, but with Gleeson's mostly reserved façade, we never really know what's going on in his head.

Part haunted house, part ghost story, and part psychological thriller; however, it's really not fully any of these. There seems to be a missing link - something for us to grab hold of as viewers. The film is wonderfully cloaked in dread and looks fabulous - replete with ominous music and a creepy old mansion. Unfortunately those things are accompanied by the slowest build up in cinematic history. "A snail's pace" is too kind as a description. The film is very well acted, but horror films and thrillers need more than atmosphere, otherwise frustration sets in with the viewer. There is little doubt this played much better on the pages of Ms. Waters' book.

This is one of those films I wish I liked more than I actually did. The Little Stranger is a tough one to recommend because I'm unsure who exactly it would play well to. Personally, I'm a big fan of slow-paced, melancholic character studies with psychological themes. Sprinkle in some horror elements too? Yes please! If there's an audience for this, it definitely should've been me. But somehow, despite all the things I appreciated-the gothic sets, thick atmosphere, subtle storytelling, restrained chills, psychological focus-the film just failed to fully engage me.

It's unfortunate because of the clear attention and care that went into making this. The acting is strong, the story taken seriously, and the themes rich. What I appreciated most was the way in which the film takes the concept of a "ghost" and re-purposes it to explore how a seminal childhood experience can profoundly impact personality development and future, potentially pathological decision making. The film is constructed to force the audience to question Faraday's motivations in his uncanny attraction to the manor and its heirs. As more about his childhood is revealed, one event in particular, those motivations slowly gain focus: does he want to make amends? transcend his own social class? resolve an unconscious conflict? make his mother proud? Probably all of the above, to some degree. And the final twist at the end of the film is quite intelligent, giving a literal, supernatural explanation for the figurative way in which Faraday's childhood self has been sabotaging his adult life.

Even still, with all of the things the film has going for it, something is amiss. I think part of the problem is that it feels like a film with an identity crisis. It's part gothic romance, part dramatic character study, part mystery, part supernatural horror, and all of these disparate elements don't quite coalesce into a harmonious whole. In trying to do so much, it ends up feeling scattered. It also doesn't do a particularly good job at creating a sense of forward momentum in its narrative. It feels plodding and inconsequential for much of its runtime and sadly just fails to compel despite the strong final moments. As much as I appreciated the themes and the craft, the experience of actually watching the film isn't as entertaining as it could or should've been. Still, I'd give it a mild recommendation if any of the above sounds appealing. If you end up bored, don't say I didn't warn you.

Solid 3/5

Slow burn, Lost interest at parts, Good Cinematography, Well acted, Confused at ending.

One of the only things that was good about this film was the scenery. The scenery was stunning in practical all the scenes. The set desgins were also lovely. The sets looked like some out of the the 1940s. Domhnall Gleeson who plays Faraday also did his best in this film. He and Ruth Wilson were the only people in this film, in my opinion that were giving it their all. They don't have much emotion to give but they did stand out jobs. Now like I said before this movie is boring. Thank God the film had something nice to look at in the background because the dialogue in this is so bland and boring. Before watching this movie I read some articles on it and apparently this film was supposed to be three and a half hours long and I could tell. There were so many awkward and terrible transtions that made no snese, like there should of been a scene there but they cut it out. I can understand cutting it down but they could of made it so it was a different time length just so we can understand the story better. Also the story was so hard to follow. It was hard to follow because they have no backstory what so ever, like I said this is based off a book. And I couldn't figure out who and or what the main villain was, and I still don't know. I don't want to go on with how bad this movie was because I could. In the end this movie is really beautifully shot and the sets look gorgeous. So if you like well shot movies and or if you read the book then I recommend you see this movie but if not avoid this movie at all costs.