I have to say that the new movie, OLD, from M Night Shyamalan, had me intrigued when I first saw the trailer for it a while back so when the film finally had its release here in the UK on Friday (23rd July) I had to check it out at my local Cineworld.
A family arrive for their tropical holiday in what appears to be an amazing hotel that has everything you could possibly want on a holiday, they are greeted by the owner and given cocktails that are based on their preferences of the foods etc that they like, all very well and nothing strange there, or so you would think.
The family settle into the hotel and while having a meal they are told by the owner about a secluded beach that is hard to get to and that he only tells his favourite guests about, imagine the chances of going to the perfect hotel in a wonderful tropical paradise and being told that you have the chance to visit an exclusive beach to enjoy your holiday.
After the family board the minibus they are joined by another, so not really exclusive to them, the driver (a cameo from director M Night Shyamalan) takes them to the secluded beach and tells them that he will pick them back up at 5 pm and tells them to follow the trail to the beach.
So far so good, but upon arrival at the beach everything seems OK until strange things happen as the families son, played by Nolan River (Adverse)is surprised while he is in the water by a dead body! Now this is where things start happening, as the families on the beach try to leave they blackout and return to the beach, now with no means of leaving the beach that seems like paradise, the children start to age rapidly and the parents develop wrinkles and other signs of ageing.
OLD is a movie that is going to give mixed reactions to those that see it, yes it can be drawn out for most of its 1h 48min run time, but it is an intriguing film and you are left wondering why everyone is ageing, is this some kind of supernatural phenomenon or something more sinister.
The acting for the most part of the film did seem a little lacklustre and wooden to me, although having the likes of Rufus Sewell did bring up the calibre a tad and I have to say that the early part of the film was made more enjoyable by Nolan River‘s portrayal of the 6-year-old Trent upon arrival to the hotel.
Let’s face it, OLD isn’t going to be for everyone and the mystery of why the characters are ageing on the beach isn’t made clear until the twist that we have all come to expect from M Night Shyamalan, some may be surprised by the twist and some may see it coming, but it works for the films overall content.
This certainly isn’t one of the best films from M Night Shyamalan but it is by no means the worst of them, there is some great cinematography from Mike Gioulakis (It Follows, Glass) throughout the film, the soundtrack from Trevor Gureckis (The Gold Finch, Hunters) works very well and brings across the feelings for scenes in the film the cast seems to work OK together, I’m certainly interested now in taking at the graphic novel “Sandcastle” by Pierre-Oscar Lévy and Frederick Peeters that OLD is base upon.
If you are a dedicated follower/fan of Shyamalan then this is going to be a film that you will want to see on the big screen, don’t expect lots of action or any action at all in this movie it’s a slow-burning mystery/drama that keeps you guessing.
Old features Gael GarcÃa Bernal, Vicky Krieps, Rufus Sewell, Abby Lee, Ken Leung, Eliza Scanlan, Embeth Davidtz and Nolan River. Out now in UK cinemas.
Intriguing movie from M Night Shyamalan
Movie title: OLD (2021)
Movie description: A thriller about a family on a tropical holiday who discover that the secluded beach where they are relaxing for a few hours is somehow causing them to age rapidly reducing their entire lives into a single day.
Date published: July 23, 2021
Country: UK
Duration: 1h 48min
Director(s): M Night Shyamalan
Actor(s): Gael GarcÃa Bernal, Vicky Krieps, Rufus Sewell, Nolan River
Genre: drama, mystery, thriller
Summary
Not the best of Shyamalan’s movies, but certainly not the worst of them.
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
