Old

When I first saw the trailer for the latest M. Night Shyamalan film, I was quite intrigued. It was a unique hook for a horror thriller. The resulting film is certainly proving to be one of his more divisive films. I can certainly see why with how the film plays out but it is still an intriguing premise for a film that I found to be reasonably satisfying. 

Guy and Prisca Cappa (played by Gael Garcia Bernal and Vicky Krieps) are taking a family vacation to a tropical resort with their young children, Maddox and Trent (played by Alexa Swinton and Nolan River). Guy and Prisca are at a crossroads in their marriage and planning to separate. They are viewing this as one last family vacation before they do and trying to make the best of it. When the Resort Manager (played by Gustaf Hammarsten) suggests the family check out a secluded beach for the day, they agree. Also aboard the resort shuttle to the beach is Charles (played by Rufus Sewell), his wife Chrystal (played by Abbey Lee), daughter Kara (played by Kyle Bailey) and his mother Agnes (played by Kathleen Chalfant). They are also joined by Patricia and Jarin Carmichael (played by Nikki Amuka-Bird and Ken Leung). Upon arriving at the beach they are surprised at how beautiful and secluded it is. They soon discover they are not alone, another man is at the beach who the kids know as famous rapper Mid-Size Sedan (played by Aaron Pierre). Their tranquility is quickly shattered when one of the kids discovers a dead body on the beach who is revealed to have been Mid-Size's girlfriend. The group tries to deal with this discovery and determine what to do since the Resort simply dropped them off at the beach, promising to pick them up that evening and no one can get a cell phone signal. Soon, Prisca notices something is wrong with the kids and as the hours pass, it becomes clear the kids are aging at an accelerated rate. It quickly dawns on the adults that it's not just the kids...it's everyone. Any attempt to leave the beach the way they came causes the person to black out and awaken back on the beach. The characters find themselves facing a horrifying scenario as they have to try and find a way off the beach before the rapidly passing time has them all dying of old age.    

The film was written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan and is based on the graphic novel "Sandcastle" by Pierre Oscar Levy and Frederik Peeters. I have not read the original novel so I am not sure how closely he follows the original story but I have heard he does make some significant departures. Still, the film does have an intriguing hook to it's story and how the characters react to all the horrors this beach can unleash on the various occupants. The film does come up with some very unique situations the characters have to deal with, such as rapidly accelerating medical conditions, both physical and mental, as well as their kids accelerated travels through puberty that lead to some very real and unique complications. This is all paired well with some stunning cinematography by Mike Gioulakis that manages to make the beach look idyllic and ominous at the same time. I also have to give credit to Make-up designer Tony Gardner for the fantastic work on the old age make-up effects. Often times, old age makeup will be really overdone in movies but there is a nuance to these effects that make them very convincing and natural. 

The film does have some faults though too. The dialogue at times is very clunky and heavy handed, especially at the beginning. There is also the ending to the film which I feel reveals too much about the nature of what exactly is happening on this island and the nature of the resort and in doing so creates some pretty big plot holes if you stop and think about the implications of the ending revelations at all. Shyamalan listed Peter Weir's Picnic at Hanging Rock among his influences but I can't help but wish he had taken more inspiration from that film and crafted an ending that was a bit more ambiguous rather than spelling everything out for the audience (although to his credit, the exact nature of the beach and why it is that way remains largely a mystery).  

The cast assembled for the film is great, led by Gael Garcia Bernal and Vicky Krieps, who give a sense of realism to their characters, two people trying to put on a brave face for their kids, first in the face of their impending separation and then later their impending doom on the beach. Rufus Sewell does well in his role too and it is certainly a trickier one as the film goes on. I won't elaborate because spoilers, but he does do quite well in the role. Alex Wolff does an good job as older Trent and along with Thomasin McKenzie as older Maddox and Eliza Scanlen as older Kara have some tricky parts to play because the characters are only supposed to look older, but functionally still be little kids and all three pull off that delicate balancing act well. 

Overall, Old isn't one of M. Night Shyamalan's best films but it's far from his worst either. It has a solid premise that holds up for much of the film, but just falls apart with some aspects of it's plot and his need to over explain. The more he does the less that held up to scrutiny as I thought back on it. If anything, the morals of this story are always make sure to research your vacation destinations thoroughly and make sure you tell family and friends back home your entire itinerary.