Old movie review: The thriller lies on the cusp of sci-fi and mystery, but hardly scores in either genre

M. Night Shyamalan’s thriller slips, stumbles and falls face-first on ol’ muck

Old

Story:

Vacationers at an exotic tropical getaway are inflicted with an unusual phenomenon that triggers them to progressively age almost 50 years over the course of hours when they visit the island’s secluded beach.

Review: 

In a scene from this film, we find several vacationers emerging from a cave, cupping their heads with their hands. Their expressions reveal the immense pain they’ve endured. One of them, who happens to be a surgeon, articulates his suffering as “extreme cranial pressure” (pressure exerted by the fluids inside the skull). This could precisely describe the sentiments of those who have just watched M. Night Shyamalan’s Old.

Movies about unexplained and curious occurrences tend to border on bizarre subplots. Old, too, revolves around an anomalous premise. A flock of vacationers comprising a few families find themselves on a private beach at a luxury island resort. The idyllic beach with roaring waves seems like the perfect place to spend the day, until they realise that an unexplained phenomenon is causing them to age unnaturally and instantly. Before they know it, the adults acquire deep crows feet, the children grow out of their swimming costumes and some turn more listless than usual or tolerable. What follows is a constant badgering of chaos and confusion. Bodies of those who try to escape by swimming into the ocean are swept back to shore like refuse and those who choose to stay back, develop mental and physical impairments synonymous with old age. Keeping up with the strange developments and inevitable cacophony can be disconcerting but it hardly keeps one hooked, interested or tense – the desired combo that makes such movies tick.

The ominous score of waves crashing loudly against giant rocks deliberately conjures a certain mood. Cinematographer Michael Gioulakis’ liberal use of closeups to capture terrified reaction shots seems manipulative yet effective, but the violently swerving handheld shots to drum up excitement can induce a headache.

While it’s unfair to question the logic or try to objectively reason the plausibility of sequences in a film like this, the series of events often defy better sense. The very sight of level-headed individuals suddenly turning belligerent and hacking each other, while others collapse and succumb to comorbidities can make even hardened fans of graphic violence squirm. It’s a concerted if not strategic effort to induce an unsettling feeling. But those who sign up for films where strange happenings take a manic turn, tend to hope for the worst, pray for disaster and prepare to have their brains melted and minds demolished. And that’s where Shyamalan’s Old slips, stumbles and falls face-first on ol’ muck.

Despite the scattered narrative, the film has an impressive cast. Starring Gael García Bernal (Bad Education, The Motorcycle Diaries), Vicky Krieps (Phantom Thread, Beckett) and Rufus Sewell (Paris, je t'aime, The Father), almost every cast member pulls their weight. But there’s only as much that talent can deliver when the material makes a mockery of the genre.

Shyamalan has made a career out of sparking our imagination about the unknown and unexplored. This has resulted in a slew of horror/thrillers that have been received with varying critical acclaim and success. More recently, the auteur made a splash with Servant (Apple TV+), a deliciously dark thriller series that could claim those with a faint heart. But the filmmaker known to have some authority on dark subjects has often relied on high concept projects which don’t live up to the hype. And Old which lies on the cusp of sci-fi, mystery and gore, hardly scores in either genre conclusively.

Verdict: 

For a film that furnishes a uniquely debilitating circumstance of being trapped and left with little hope, success can be measured by how effectively it can convey this feeling across the screen. On that front, Old leans on tested tropes and camera tricks but cumulatively fails as a taut thriller.

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Cast and Crew

Gael García Bernal

Thomasin McKenzie

Vicky Krieps

Rufus Sewell

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