The Others (2001)

A woman who lives in a darkened old house with her two photosensitive children becomes convinced that her family home is haunted.

Director:

Alejandro Amenábar

Writer:

Alejandro Amenábar

Stars:

Nicole Kidman, Fionnula Flanagan, Christopher Eccleston

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 23 wins & 36 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Nicole Kidman	...	Grace Stewart
Fionnula Flanagan	...	Mrs. Bertha Mills
Christopher Eccleston	...	Charles Stewart
Alakina Mann	...	Anne Stewart
James Bentley	...	Nicholas Stewart
Eric Sykes	...	Mr. Edmund Tuttle
Elaine Cassidy	...	Lydia
Renée Asherson	...	Old Lady
Gordon Reid	...	Assistant
Keith Allen	...	Mr. Marlish
Michelle Fairley	...	Mrs. Marlish
Alexander Vince	...	Victor Marlish
Ricardo López	...	Second Assistant
Aldo Grilo	...	Gardener

Storyline

A woman named Grace retires with her two children to a mansion on Jersey, towards the end of the Second World War, where she's waiting for her husband to come back from battle. The children have a disease which means they cannot be touched by direct sunlight without being hurt in some way. They will live alone there with oppressive, strange and almost religious rules, until she needs to hire a group of servants for them. Their arrival will accidentally begin to break the rules with unexpected consequences.

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Plot Keywords:

servant | mansion | sunlight | disease | mute | 

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Taglines:

Sooner or later she'll see them, then everything will be different.

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements and frightening moments

Details

Official Sites:

Central Partnership [ru] Official Facebook

Country:

USA Spain France Italy

Language:

English French

Release Date:

10 August 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Darkness

Filming Locations:

Jersey, Channel Islands

Box Office

Budget:

$17,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$249,485 (Belgium) (18 January 2002)

Gross:

$61,291,152 (Europe) (1 February 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cruise/Wagner Productions, Sociedad General de Cine (SOGECINE) S.A., Las Producciones del Escorpión S.L.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is the highest grossing Spanish film ($209,700,000) in the all-time worldwide boxoffice history. As of May 2006 it was 265th.

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Goofs

While Grace is searching for the missing curtains, Anne and Nicholas argue while Anne draws. Her drawing goes back and forth, being less complete when the camera is beside her, and more complete when it is beside Nicholas.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Grace: Now children, are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin... This story started many thousands of years ago, and it was all over in just 7 days. All that long long time ago, none of the things we can see now, the sun, the moon, the stars, the earth, the animals and plants, not a single one existed. Only God existed. And so only he could have created them. And he did.

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Crazy Credits

Before the opening credits or music begin, we hear Grace's voice over a black screen; she says (in the manner of a mother about to tell a bedtime story), "Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin."

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Connections

Referenced in Panic Room (2002)

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Soundtracks

"I Only Have Eyes for You"
(1934)
Music by Harry Warren
Lyrics Al Dubin
Sung a cappella by Nicole Kidman (uncredited)
Published by WB Music Corp. (ASCAP)

User Reviews

Subtle, genuinely creepy and ... SUBTLE

The Others is a very remarkable film from more than just one viewpoint. In an era where you can only impress young horror fanatics with bucket-loads of blood and gross-out effects, Amenábar actually re-teaches his audience that fear is especially caused by suggestion and the absence of explicit images. The Others is the first intelligent horror film in years, completely relying on atmosphere and eerie set pieces. It's such a relief to finally see a subtle film that is also effective! I'm normally not much of Nicole Kidman fan but she's very convincing as the prudish, over-concerned mother who desperately tries to protect her children from the outside world (daylight in particular). She lives in a remote mansion and waits, along with her 2 children, for WWII to be over. With the arrival of 3 servants, strange events star to occur in the old house and the daughter spots 'intruders' everywhere. The screenplay - by Amenábar himself - is not totally unique (filmfreaks who're familiar with expressionism highlights from the 60's will quickly guess the hidden plot twist) but it's filled with ingenious findings and sublime dialogues. The Others reminds you of 'The Innocents' and there are far worse films to get compared with, if you ask me! What also is rather amazing about this production is that Amenábar seems so confident! This is his first giant Hollywood adventure with stars in the cast and American money and yet he has total control over everything. The acting is great, the plot actually scares you and the directing is solid. The Others is a total winner and easily one of the greatest genre-films of the last few decades.