Stoker (2013)
Starring Mia Wasikowska, Matthew Goode, Nicole Kidman, Phyllis Somerville, Jacki Weaver, and Dermot Mulroney
Directed by Chan-wook Park
I've only seen two Chan-wook Park films -- Thirst and now Stoker (I've heard great things about Oldboy so I probably should check that out) -- but I feel like I understand the director's quirky tendencies when it comes to choosing stories to lense, peppering his films with oddly uncomfortable moments. Then again, two films does not a director make, but the similar aesthetic is certainly intriguing. That isn't to say that Stoker doesn't feel "weird for weird's sake" at times because in the film's first half, I was certainly getting a bit antsy wondering if this was simply a director taking an unusual screenplay (by Prison Break's Wentworth Miller) and failing to inject anything other than a unique stylization behind it. However, once some of the screenplay's secrets are revealed, the story kicks into high gear and doesn't take a whole lot of breaths, providing an unusual homage to Hitchcockian films of the past.
Owing a significant debt of gratitude to Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt, Stoker begins with the death of 18 year-old India Stoker's father from a terrible car accident. At the wake at the family home, India (Mia Wasikowska) is greeted by her father's brother Charlie (Matthew Goode) and Uncle Charlie and her mother Evelyn (Nicole Kidman) hit it off almost instantly. Uncle Charlie had traveled the world for close to two decades and neither India nor Evelyn had ever met him, but Evelyn is pleased to have a man around the house. Soon, however, people start disappearing and India begins to wonder if the charming Uncle Charlie is to blame. While Evelyn slowly becomes enraptured by Charlie's good look, India also starts to fall under his spell despite her better judgment.
The cast overall is solid although Mia Wasikowska continues to amaze in that her blandness has won her leading roles. Granted, she's proven herself (see this as validation) and in this role her nonchalance and lack of emotion are warranted, but I am shocked she's a top choice amongst directors. The rest of cast excel, including Jacki Weaver, Phyllis Somerville, and Dermot Mulroney who make the most out of small roles. Matthew Goode in particular is fantastic. Able to convey both an alluring suaveness and frightening slyness, it's as if Goode was picked right up out of a Hitchcock film -- it's a near perfect union of character and actor. (And although I've failed to discuss Ms. Kidman, she also shines here.)
Much like Thirst, Stoker revels in the sexual tension it creates, at times reaching levels of true uncomfortableness in the audience. It isn't that the film contains nudity or graphic sex scenes, but there's a sense of unease that's created that has the audience oddly repelled and intrigued at the same time. Although India is certainly more "adult" than her young eighteen years would suggest, her infatuation with her uncle (and his reciprocation of that) is disconcerting. But that's part of the game of Stoker and it's why the film works. Hitchcock wasn't afraid of making his audiences squirm a bit and director Park (in this is first English language film) isn't either. Park obviously is paying homage to that great director (there's a scene involving a fly that most would overlook, but screamed Psycho to me), but he's also ramping things up just a tiny bit for the modern age.
Owing a significant debt of gratitude to Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt, Stoker begins with the death of 18 year-old India Stoker's father from a terrible car accident. At the wake at the family home, India (Mia Wasikowska) is greeted by her father's brother Charlie (Matthew Goode) and Uncle Charlie and her mother Evelyn (Nicole Kidman) hit it off almost instantly. Uncle Charlie had traveled the world for close to two decades and neither India nor Evelyn had ever met him, but Evelyn is pleased to have a man around the house. Soon, however, people start disappearing and India begins to wonder if the charming Uncle Charlie is to blame. While Evelyn slowly becomes enraptured by Charlie's good look, India also starts to fall under his spell despite her better judgment.
The cast overall is solid although Mia Wasikowska continues to amaze in that her blandness has won her leading roles. Granted, she's proven herself (see this as validation) and in this role her nonchalance and lack of emotion are warranted, but I am shocked she's a top choice amongst directors. The rest of cast excel, including Jacki Weaver, Phyllis Somerville, and Dermot Mulroney who make the most out of small roles. Matthew Goode in particular is fantastic. Able to convey both an alluring suaveness and frightening slyness, it's as if Goode was picked right up out of a Hitchcock film -- it's a near perfect union of character and actor. (And although I've failed to discuss Ms. Kidman, she also shines here.)
Much like Thirst, Stoker revels in the sexual tension it creates, at times reaching levels of true uncomfortableness in the audience. It isn't that the film contains nudity or graphic sex scenes, but there's a sense of unease that's created that has the audience oddly repelled and intrigued at the same time. Although India is certainly more "adult" than her young eighteen years would suggest, her infatuation with her uncle (and his reciprocation of that) is disconcerting. But that's part of the game of Stoker and it's why the film works. Hitchcock wasn't afraid of making his audiences squirm a bit and director Park (in this is first English language film) isn't either. Park obviously is paying homage to that great director (there's a scene involving a fly that most would overlook, but screamed Psycho to me), but he's also ramping things up just a tiny bit for the modern age.
The RyMickey Rating: B+
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