Stoker

[I'm Murrin]

First, the one word review: Beautiful.

Of course, I say that about every Park Chan-wook film. Because it's usually true.

Stoker is Park at his finest. Which I'm very pleased about - I wasn't sure what it would be like, as he usually works with his own scripts, and this one was written by actor-turned-screenwriter Wentworth Miller.

It's a very slow, tense film - it's all about the suspense. India Stoker's father dies in an accident, on her birthday. At the wake, she is introduced to Uncle Charlie - a man she's never even heard about before, who she is now told will be staying with her and her mother. Uncle Charlie's story is an old one, and very recognisable. What is different in this film is India, played by Mia Wasikowska, the unhappy and withdrawn girl who is immediately both drawn to and distrustful of her uncle. To be honest the script doesn't actually carry much of the weight of the film, and it's the style Park brings to it that holds it together.

The film uses an intercutting of scenes in places that is interesting, flashing forward or backward to flesh out one scene within the context of another; in other places it intercuts scenes taking place simultaneously in ways that make the various pieces mirror and echo one another.

The film also contains a lot of visual elements that refer back to Park's earlier films: Boxes tied with ribbons (Oldboy), feet and shoes - particularly a man giving a woman shoes (Thirst). There was a certain shot at the beginning and end of the film which seems to draw a direct echo in India of Ms. Geum-ja from Lady Vengeance.

What's also noticable from the very start is the emphasis of sound. Effects are frequently amplified and emphasised in a way you don't usually see in film. The sounds in the film are held in just as much importance as the images.

Like many of Park's films, it is a little slow to start but builds up to something wonderful. I don't think this is a film that will work for everybody, though. I do recommend it, particularly if you've liked the director's other work.