Old – A Simple Yet Effective Thriller (Early Review)

Writer/director M. Night Shyamalan has had quite a hit or miss filmography though no one can argue that he always swings for the fences. When he hits it, he knocks it out of the park otherwise when he strikes out, it could be painful. On an upswing as of late, he continues his recent run with Old, a film that also swings for the fences but is sure to continue to divide audiences. As with many of Shyamalan’s films aren’t always as they seem, this one is no different, using the simple premise and setting implied by its trailers and promotional material slowly to its benefit, resulting in a tense thriller that works more often than not in spite of some awkward dialog. That being said, that premise is admittedly still a ridiculous one so some disbelief is required or at least the trailers should not have revealed as much (though that would require a fair amount of reworking). In the end, fans of Shyamalan should not be surprised by the fact that there is a lot more to this story. While it could have been a touch shorter, it is certainly still well worth the ride.

Old tells the story of a family on vacation at a tropical resort who end up on a secluded beach where they believed they would relax alongside some other characters until they discovered that the beach was causing them to rapidly age though suffice it to say that this would also have some unintended consequences. For whatever reason, something didn’t seem quite right about it all and the situation snowballed from there. While the why and how of it all wasn’t as pressing of an issue at least right away, as far as the characters were concerned, it was about coming to terms with what was happening and learn how to survive. Despite some awkward moments dialog wise, watching the former play out on screen was increasingly tense to watch above all else. Growing pains aside, the characters issues went much beyond that. At that point, it was all about wondering who will survive and whether or not that meant leaving the beach which presented its own set of challenges.

The balance between the mystery and the supernatural survival part of Old is sure to be contentious with some audiences. It’s a slow burn that could have gone a touch faster and/or the film could have given audiences more time with the characters to connect with them more before throwing them into danger, however, those are only minor complaints. Grounding it somewhat was the strong family angle but that can go both ways as Guy (Bernal) and Prisca’s (Krieps) love for their children also tended to hold things back. Along those lines, the middle section of the film could have been cut down to improve the pacing though it introduced some stakes into the equation while breaking down some of the family scenes. Ultimately, the character arc of the family over the course of the film was a highlight as their shared experience, touching on the impact of time on relationships through their adversity, brought them closer together as Guy and Prisca’s children, Trent and Maddox, essentially grew up during a time that was not exactly seamless.

Meanwhile, the film’s beach setting was merely another character within Old. Shot in the Dominican Republic, the natural beauty of the setting was absolutely beautiful to look at while the film used a series of long takes with the camera panning back and forth to keep up with all the action on the beach. Perhaps not as flashy as other Shyamalan films, the score, while not groundbreaking by any means, helped accentuate moments of tension (maybe there could’ve been more). The only real special effect here was some makeup work to illustrate the aging process of the characters, especially the older ones with the younger ones being recast accordingly as they aged (the younger actors chosen matched up nicely). The best part of the film was its performances across the board. Bernal and Krieps were solid as Guy and Prisca but the true standouts were Alex Wolff and Thomasin McKenzie as the teenage Trent and Maddox who had to be a difficult combination of kids and teens in the midst of everything else. 

At the end of the day, Old will not be for everyone. Bringing a lot to the table, it may not succeed at everything it set out to do but it is still a worthy genre film.

still courtesy of Universal

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.