stoker

it was a choice between a light movie (oz the great and the powerful) and something dark and unsettling (stoker) on my way back to manila this early june. thinking that i probably can copy the james franco – michelle williams starrer from emma or pops, i chose the much darker stoker.

india’s (mia wasikowska) father (dermot mulroney) mysteriously dies in a car accident on india’s 18th birthday. soon after, charlie (matthew goode), india’s uncle, comes to live her and her unstable mom, evelyn (nicole kidman). as imdb puts it, “india comes to suspect this mysterious, charming man has ulterior motives and becomes increasingly infatuated with him.” this movie is disturbing and meant for those who do not easily get bored with long drawn scenes. the first half of the film depicted everyday domestic activities such as having dinner, gardening, playing piano, which of course are all laden with quiet but vile overtures. mysterious as he is, the audience immediately knows that charlie is up to no good. first, the housekeeper suddenly disappears. the dinner with aunt gwendolyn was just an introduction to her being strangled in the phone booth and being buried in the estate with her cellphone. india, when being attacked by whip, witnesses the boy being murdered by her uncle charlie. this then led to their “deeper” connection as well as india’s sexual awakening, getting off to the thought of charlie breaking whip’s neck. india then learns that it is charlie who is responsible for her father’s death, shoots charlie when the latter tries to kill evelyn. she then speeds off to begin a new life only to be stopped by the sheriff. india then stabs the sheriff with pair of shears and shots of rifle being heard at the end of the film.

stoker is captivatingly different from the usual thriller fare. while it may be lyrical or tranquil at the onset, the horror beneath the surface made it engaging. as beautiful as the cinematic shots that were everywhere in the film, as they say, park chan-wook’s style, the movie is disturbingly good. the sequences in the basement when india was putting the ice cream in the freezer and getting some for herself while the light fixtures were swinging were particularly well put, ominous and creepy. the thought of india realizing her darker side as her true self is altogether disconcerting and not your everyday flick afterthought, which might stay with you in a long while. first-rate cast was also one of the key strengths of the film. nicole kidman’s evelyn was superbly vulnerable and matthew goode’s charlie was charmingly manipulative and  sinister at its best. mia wasikowska was far from her mirror mirror ladylike character. in stoker, she effortlessly conveyed india’s naivete or susceptibility to being devoured by a vile character,  inner strength and inherent wickedness.

evelyn stoker: you know i've often wondered why it is we have children in the first place and the conclusion i've come to is at some point in our lives we realize things are, they're messed up beyond repair. so we decide to start again, wipe the slate clean, start fresh and we have children, little carbon copies we can turn to and say, you will do things i cannot. you will succeed where i have failed because we want someone to get it right this time. but not me, personally speaking i cannot wait to see life tear you apart.

india: my ears hear what others cannot hear; small faraway things people cannot normally see are visible to me. these senses are the fruits of a lifetime of longing, longing to be rescued, to be completed. just as the skirt needs the wind to billow, i'm not formed by things that are of myself alone. i wear my father's belt tied around my mother's blouse, and shoes which are from my uncle. this is me. just as a flower does not choose its color, we are not responsible for what we have come to be. only once you realize this do you become free, and to become adult is to become free.