A luxurious resort sends a cohort of families to a secluded beach where, inexplicably, they rapidly get older.
Mixed feelings over a simple premise. Starting with the narrative, During Act I, nothing’s happening, and the lack of an inciting incident negatively impacts the film’s pace and rhythm. By definition, that creates a tremendous contrast with the second act, in which everything happens. Act II is… death! People are dropping like flies, and all you know is that that beach is making everyone… old. But there is more to it as certain wounds heal, others worsen, and so on. So, stick to the end to see what Act III has in store for you.
From a directing point of view, M. Night Shyamalan is in full control of his camera and its movement. He takes charge of what to disclose or not to disclose, why, and, most importantly, how to deal with either case. There are exciting crane shots and tracking shots, and Hitchcock zooms in on moments where age abnormality incidents are about to occur. The second act is where he patiently builds up the suspense and horror to lead to the climactic night.
Shyamalan, based on Pierre Oscar Lévy’s graphic novel ‘Sandcastle’ and heavily influenced by Luis Buñuel’s satire The Exterminating Angel (1962), wrote the script before the pandemic hit but shot the film right in the middle of it. Making sure that all precautions were taken, he, the crew, and the cast were stunned by the similarities of what they were shooting and the effects the pandemic had in the world (especially last year). After all, Old deals with isolation (lockdown), the roots of death (virus), the fear of infection, and the way out of this tragedy. Surprisingly immaculate timing, indeed. Speaking of the cast: Gael García Bernal, Vicky Krieps, Rufus Sewell, Abbey Lee, Ken Leung, Amuka-Bird, Aaron Pierre and the rest of the cast do a great job portraying their characters, adding their performances to Shyamalan’s vision. Embeth Davidtz gets a separate mention, as I’m biased (I admit it) and find her amazing in everything she’s been in.
Other than the aforementioned influences, Shyamalan said he originally wanted to get involved with this project due to his parents getting old and personal phobias of his. Be it as it may, I bought and read Lévy’s ‘Sandcastle’ as, admittedly, I was unaware of – and I was really interested in observing the differences. The adaptation is remarkable, and I take my hat off to both Lévy for grasping this concept and Shyamalan for bringing it to life. There is something I noticed, though, that I believe in Old became a fainted subplot when, I believe, it should have been, arguably, the main plot: Life is too short! I know it sounds cliché, but it is! And the pandemic made (most of) us rethink and rearrange our priorities in life. And not only is it too short, but whatever problems we think we may have now, these problems will be amplified as the years pass. And all we will be left with is remorse for everything we never tried, reminiscence, and one last chance for redemption. Maybe think about that while watching it.
Of course, this is Hollywood, and this is Shyamalan, so the result has to be somewhat fancy, and there has to be a twist. Personally, I didn’t find the twist so impactful, as it raised some questions that led me to plot holes. Overall, I found it intriguing, though, and I highly recommend it despite its flaws. I hope you enjoy it and that it makes you think about life after the end credits start scrolling down.
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