Works Cited

• Hiller, Jordan. "Bangitout.com: Movies That Bang! Hiller Movie Reviews." Bangitout.com - Jewish Comedy, Culture, Events & Classifieds. Bangitout.com, 2001. Web. 05 May 2011. <http://www.bangitout.com/reviews13.html>.

• The Others. Dir. Alejandro Amenabar. Perf. Nicole Kidman, Christopher Eccleston, Fionnula Flanagan. Dimension, 2001. DVD.

• Villalmanzo, David. "The Others (2001) - IMDb." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). IMDb.com, 2001. Web. 05 May 2011. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0230600/>.

Character Analysis

The characters in this movie are all really interesting in different ways. For starters the mother, Grace is very mysterious to where it is apparent that she is hiding something, although it is obvious that she loves her children and would do whatever to protect them. She can be a bit controlling but that just goes with what she has been through. The children also have a very interesting characteristics and personalities. The older sister, Anne is more controlling and brave over her brother, Nicholas who is more shy and scared. There is something there between Anne and her mother that is noticeable on how she knows what her mother did to her so she does not respect her the same way and completely does her own independent thing. On the other side, Nicholas is more protective of his mother and every time Anne brings that day “mommy went mad” Nicholas gets mad and tells her to stop. Nicholas being younger, he is more scared of the supernatural things and is harder for him because it is easier to believe everything that his sister tells him. The father, Charles is only in the movie for a small period of time, but it shows how lost he was whenever Grace found him in the fog outside the house, that was most likely because he was killed in the war so he could not find his way home. Once he was home and go to see his children and his wife, then he was able to be in some sort of peace and go back to the war where he died. The servants are very mysterious not explaining to Grace and the children what is going on. Although that might just have been because that is something they had to figure out on their own.

Symbol Anaysis

In this movie, the director uses a lot of symbolism. Everything from the doors and locks, mirrors, curtains and even the children’s illness have a lot of meaning behind them. For starters, the doors and locks show that there is something hidden that the audience does not know about, as well as the protagonists. They are being hidden from what is going on around them. They also show how there could be different entry ways to other worlds, sometimes they experience things out of the norm but sometimes they don’t. Mirrors, I believe always have that creepy feeling to them and are in most horror or mystery movies just to add an effect of the reflection and the meaning behind it. It was always heard of losing someone’s soul in the process of looking at themselves too much in the mirror, I think that mirrors were added for that extra effect. The children’s illness is used as a symbol by giving them an excuse to keep them inside the house and not being able to step out into the sunlight. I think that is a perfect reason or else, they would have been able to leave the house and it would not have the same effect on the movie. Out of all of the symbols used in the movie I believe that the curtains are the most important. The children rely on the curtains to keep them away from the sun and keep them safe inside their home. It also shows another form of something hidden inside and not being able to leave. Once the curtains are removed from the house then the story changes and a new point of view is shown, now that the children are exposed to sunlight.

Setting Analysis

The Setting of this movie is based on the mid 20^th century, in a house that was built around the 19^th century on Jersey Islands, England. The house looks like a classic haunted house with around fifty rooms; it is dark because of how they have to keep the house for the children. There is no electricity, no phones and everything is very quiet which again, makes the setting look creepier in the sense of being able to hear every little sound that is being made around the house. There is a fog outside the house that has been there for a while now. This fog I imagine has to do with where they are at which would be more of the supernatural world. They are not living in the real world, so in the supernatural world they use the fog to differentiate the two. Once the other family is shown leaving the house, it is clearly visible that the fog is not really there. The fog as well makes it harder for the family to leave the house. Surrounding the house is a forest-like feeling which, again shows a creepy side of the house with a lot of trees and leaves everywhere. I think the setting fits the story perfectly and it shows how important every little aspect of a story is. Without this same setting, the story would not have the same effect.

Summary

The movie The Others is a mystery, drama about a mother, Grace and her two children, Ann and Nicholas. Grace’s husband was sent to war so he has been gone for a while. They are living in this mansion house with many, many rooms. Forced to live in complete darkness, because of Anne and Nicholas’ fatal condition of not being able to be exposed to sunlight, Grace has to close the curtains in all of the rooms whenever her children are present. This adds to the mystery and darkness of the story. The Servants that had lived with them in the house left one day without a warning and so, Grace had to look for new servants for her house. In that moment Bertha, Edmund and Lydia arrive at the house ready to work. While the time that they are there many things are discovered, mysterious things happen like random noises, the children say they see other people in the house which seem to possibly be ghosts trying to get them out of the house. A twist is then thrown at the end of the movie which reveals the true meaning of all of the supernatural things happening around the mansion and discovers the true identities of the servants that arrived. According by Jordan Hiller, This movie is “A winner in a number of ways… It'll give you something to think about in the shower or in the bathroom in general. Also, for better or worse depending on how much you like sleeping, it will come back to haunt you when you lie in bed at night” (Hiller).

Proposal

I chose to write about the movie, The Others. This topic interested me, because after watching the film it left me with all kinds of different questions that I wanted to discover the answer to. This film also keep me thinking of different possibilities and the outcomes and how, possibly this is something that could be going on in the world around us. Many people die, of course but we never know for sure what happens with their souls afterwards. I found it quite interesting as how the director could think of every little detail regarding this movie and was able to show a side to a different world that I would of never imagined in that way.