"Old" Review: Great Concept, Faulty Execution
When you hear the name M. Night Shyamalan, it doesn’t stir up exciting emotions about cinema. Instead, it’s generally a frustrating mixture as to whether he’s a hack or not. Don’t get me wrong, I think he has talent. I clearly enjoyed The Visit but had issues with After Earth. It’s the constant back and forth battle of his legacy. The premise of his films are always intriguing enough to make you watch, but they don’t quite live up to the excitement of a trailer. Never one to disappoint, Shayamalan’s latest, Old, has interesting concepts and poor execution.
The film has the set up of a horror film. A young family arrives at a resort after winning a sweepstakes. It’s supposed to be one last great outing before the parents tell their kids some news. Guy (Gael Garcia Bernal), Prisca (Vicky Krieps), Maddox (Alexa Swinton), and Trent (Nolan River) are excited to be there. We’re slowly introduced to other couples and families on the resort property. The kind resort manager (Gustaf Hammarsten) suggests that our main family visits a secluded private part of the beach that no one knows about and they take him up on the offer.
Of course, they quickly find out that they weren’t the only ones told about this strip of paradise. Perhaps as swiftly, they also learn that the beach is aging their bodies. Like any good horror film, there are enough people on the beach to have some start leaving the flick in interesting ways due to the situation. Will anyone survive?
Old is another one of Shyamalan’s exercises in camera movement and blocking. I wouldn’t say its masterful camerawork but it is intentional. His camera focuses on what he wants us to see by keeping characters in the foreground with chaos happening in the background, dollying from one part of the beach to another while action is taking place where the camera just left, and giving us angles that exaggerate situations. There is definitely someone behind the camera telling this story, but a mixture of poor performances and weak plot points make the controlled camera engage in a fight between art and a train wreck.
One of the biggest problems with Old is the delivery of lines in the film. It sounds like many of them are doing a live table reading of the script. Vicky Krieps struggles to deliver her lines clearly but her Luxembourg accent muddies it. The chemistry of the cast is missing minus the brother/sister relationship in Maddox (Thomas McKenzie as the 16 year old version) and Trent (Alex Wolff as the 15 year old version). If the cast could have received a few more days to bond before rolling the camera, this may have been more believable. Instead you have many talented actors give a good solo performance while not responding to one another to create an ensemble. The heart of the film’s characters being a mediocre ensemble makes solid performances with chemistry from Nikki Amuka-Bird and Ken Leung go under the radar.
Once the why is revealed, it makes a lot of sense. In fact, it may make you want to read the graphic novel it was based on, “Sandcastle”. Old could have been greater if it was given a little more time and fleshing out. Instead, much like its young characters, it ages rapidly and misses key beats that were important to its development. Not a bad flick to catch when it goes streaming and you’re looking for something to watch though.
Rating: C
