One might be forgiven in believing that Park-Chan Wook’s
first English language film has something to do with vampires. After all the
name Stoker is so synonymous with the blood suckers, like Daniel Day Lewis and
Oscar trophies, one is never far away from the other. Written by Wentworth Miller, that’s right, the
baldy one from Prison Break, Stoker might not have any real vampires in the mix
but there is a lot of metaphorical blood sucking to sedate anyone’s appetite.
A slow, woozy thriller, Stoker tells the story of a newly
widowed woman and her eighteen year old daughter, India, who unexpectedly have
a new house guest in the form of a mysterious uncle. As the man’s mystery
unravels and India begins to put the sordid pieces of the jigsaw puzzle
together, instead of being repulsed or terrified she finds herself with a newly
found incestuous infatuation for her long lost relative.
Park-Chan Wook shows the audience a master class in not
wasting one iota of running time. Given that Stoker comes in at a below average
98 minutes, it’s a tight, taunt film where each and every single frame adds to
the whole completeness of the plot and story. Unlike a lot of recent movies,
where anything under two hours is nearly unheard of, Stoker never outstays its
welcome. The imagery is more than beautiful, shots and symbolic spiders that will have
you dissecting and discussing them for hours afterwards.
The script although
good, could have been stronger. The three leads, Mia Wasikowska , Nicole Kidman
and Matthew Goode give award worthy performances in underacting and help hold
the tension and atmosphere throughout but maybe they could have been helped with a
stronger hand with the dialogue. They still do amazingly though and this is the
film’s true triumph. Stoker could have come over all campy and crass but with
the capable skills of the protagonists, it stays grounded. Hard hitting, with
stoic iciness.
Stoker won’t suit the average cinema goer though. Although
one look at the trailer would have you believe that its twist, after twist and
action after action, there is only one real reveal that most people could see
coming from a mile off. There’s not much
talking either but a lot of cold stares exchanged over dinner tables, open
curtains and windows. Stoker is all about reading between the lines and
listening out for what’s not being said. To quote its central character “sometimes
you need to do something bad to stop you from doing something worse”, that is
you could go see that new Jason Statham film but really, wouldn’t you rather do
something bad?
XXX
