Stars: Mia Wasikowska, Nicole Kidman, Matthew Goode
What I Liked
Beautiful cinematography with pronounced, haunting imagery, great performance by its cast
What I Disliked
Unlikable / unrelatable central character, screenplay makes for an unnecessary length that makes the film feel slow with little to nothing happening.
Gist
Miller's screenplay allows for Park to practice beautiful cinematography punctured with haunting images, but it's a double-edged sword that hurts the film with turtle-paced storytelling that dillydallies too much to deliver imagery over story.
India Stoker is a privileged young lady who prefers hunting fowl over shopping. She also has a peculiar ability to hear the softest of whispers and see clearly even things faraway. On the day of her 18th birthday, her father died in a car accident of unspecified causes. Following her father's funeral, her father's only brother, Charlie, arranges to live with her and her mother. And while her mother finds Charlie an enigmatic and delightful company, India has nothing but suspicions that Uncle Charlie is up to no good.
Mia Wasikowska didn't exactly shoot to international renown after her major box office hit of a Disney movie, Alice in Wonderland last 2010. She has often chosen to do indie movies (The Kids are All Right) or movies that don't get released in this side of the globe (Albert Nobbs, Jane Eyre). Nevertheless, she starred in 5 movies more or less since. In Stoker, we find that Wasikowska is just as disturbed as someone who just came out of Wonderland. Mia's "India" is a sociopath who with an affinity for keeping herself looking vintage. Later on, this sociopath blooms completely to a psychopath, but I am getting ahead of myself.
The film is based on Wentworth Miller's script that made it to the list of best screenplays written in 2012. In a nutshell, it was based on Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt, with Miller stating that it starts off similarly and goes a separate path. Spoiler alert: it goes full away to the direction that the Hitchcock film didn't take. This is braver, to be honest. But in such a case, the execution needs to be done extra carefully because you might end up having an unlikable lead, something that rubbed off to me. I don't like India Stoker and I don't understand her. Sure, her character was written to spawn mystery (was she in love with her dad? Were they having an incestuous affair? Why didn't she just finish off what she did in the end earlier, what's the difference between the stairs and the mother's bedroom anyways?). She just wasn't written in a way that would make one curious enough to know / dig deeper for the answers. And with that said, I think the vision was good but the execution was forced.
Adding to that, the screenplay / editing felt gimmicky, lending a contrived vibe throughout the short playing time, as if forcing some sense of mystery to its audience. And in that attempt it made the movie feel longer than it is with little to nothing happening. Though to the screenplay / editing's credit, it allowed for Park's haunting cinematography which is one of the things that the movie has going for it.
On top of my mind, there is one scene among many that was filmed so well that it etched itself to my memory: The piano scene. In this scene, India starts playing the piano and was soon joined by an uninvited Uncle Charlie. For most of the scene, India is unwelcoming but Charlie is persistent. Eventually, India gives in and kept on going to the point that she was on the verge of a dry orgasm only to find the seat finally vacated. This scene: Amazing.
Anyways, I couldn't find fault with the acting as there was nothing explosive going on. If ever I would have any complaints with the characters, it is with how they were written not how they were performed.
Overall, It's an OK movie. There are pros and cons and I find it hard to feel that the pros outdo the cons or vice versa. I remember myself getting bored for a lot of the running time and I actually couldn't relate to any of the characters that I soon feel that I was disengaging from the movie if not for the beautiful cinematography. Miller's screenplay allows for Park to practice beautiful cinematography punctured with haunting images, but it's a double-edged sword that hurts the film with turtle-paced storytelling that dillydallies too much to deliver imagery over story. Would it have been better otherwise? I am not sure because the cinematography might get affected so maybe the only thing that can be fixed is the way characters were written. Maybe let the audience in on what they're thinking because from this point of view, I felt so blocked and eventually disengaged, watching pretty pictures.
Judgment: 3.3 out of 5 stars
For this movie, I'm willing to pay, 150 to 170 pesos. I paid 190 pesos.
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