It can be said that the most talented of directors experience their share of career slumps along with hitting their peaks. Though with M. Night Shyamalan, his filmography is one that draws intense scrutiny with polarizing films carrying supernatural plots with unexpected twists. Beginning strongly with The Sixth Sense, Shyamalan has since experienced his share of critical failures with films like The Happening, The Last Airbender, and After Earth with him yet to revert back to the level of critical stature he received early on. Unfortunately, that trend continues with his newest thriller Old, that's certain to leave audiences split in terms of whether they're thrilled by it or harbor the same level of frustration they felt upon watching his previous works. Despite boasting an interesting concept, its execution is ultimately undone by inconsistent filmmaking which results in another setback for it's once-promising filmmaker.
Based on the graphic novel Sandcastle, the plot for Old centers around a family (Gael Garcia Vernal, Vicky Krieps, Alexa Swinging and Nolan River) on a tropical holiday being invited to a beautifully secluded beach with a few other tourists. They soon discover that they're trapped and begin rapidly aging within a day. Watching the trailer for Old, it gives the impression that this was going to be a low-key horror flick that could've helped cement Shyamalan's return to form. That isn't the case here as Old carries interesting ideas but is ruined by Shyamalan's uneven style of directing and sloopy screenwriting. The film has a concept that would've been brilliantly handled had its writer-director played it more straight-forward and eliminated the films endless amount of cringe-inducing dialogue. As disappointing as Old turns out to be under Shyamalan's direction, it feels like a film that he could've done wonders with in his prime. Those hoping that the filmmaker would somehow manage to regain his mojo in delivering an effective supernatural thriller, will find his off-balance style of filmmaking still present with his latest puzzle either intriguing audiences who appreciate his work, or continue frustrating those who view him as being essentially a one trick magician.
In regards to his films performances, Shyamalan always assembles a strong cast for the stories he tells with Old having its ensemble making the most of what they're given. As talented as the films cast appears, their performances are serviceable, though hindered by the atrocious dialogue their characters spurt out, ultimately making their reactions feel forced. The most notably strong performances come from Gael Garcia Bernal and Vicky Krieps as a struggling yet likable married couple Guy and Prisca Cappa with Rufus Sewell chewing up the scenery as the Schizophrenic-battling surgeon Charles. Although multiple actors play the role of the Cappa's children, they deliver serviceable performances with Alex Wolff and Emun Elliot playing Guy and Prisca's son Trent both as a teenager and adult with Thomasin McKenzie and Embeth Davidtz playing Trent's older sister Maddox at 16 along with being an adult. The rest of the supporting cast prove reliable with Abbey Lee as Charles's wife Chrystal who has hypocalcemia, Nikki Amuka-Bird as Patricia, an epileptic psychologist married to Jarin with Ken Leung as the latter's husband and nurse, Eliza Scanlen as Charles and Chrystal's 15-year old daughter Kara, and Aaron Pierre as rapper Brendan whose revealed to be afflicted with hemophilia. In terms of selling the believability of the story, the cast for Old prove to be reliable with everyone trying their hardest to make their characters work along with enhancing the mood of the story. Their efforts are not always successful, but they deserve commending for attempting to help make Old's story work.
Shyamalan's directing falls within the category of being predictable with him giving Old a dark and tense atmosphere which carries a Spielberg Jaws type feel with much of the films scares being psychological. He gives the film a high body count while including disturbing scenes involving dead bodies and characters becoming considerably sick. There is a growing sense of peril that accelerates throughout the film with much credit going to the editing, which keeps the pace rapidly moving along with the cinematography capturing sinister shots, making it one of the strongest visual works of Shyamalan's filmography. The films score does well with adding to the suspense of the plot, while helping sustain the films tension during its 108 minute length. There is no middle ground with the directorial style presented in Old with Shyamalan delivering a vibe that's similar to his other films. The most freakiest scenes are those showing the kids rapid acceleration into adulthood over the course of hours with the psychological abnormalities of each character being displayed throughout their aging course (Rufus Sewell's character in particular). Despite the film carrying a creepy atmosphere that fits the tone of its plot, the execution is unbalanced with Shyamalan struggling to play it straight one minute while going into The Happening mode the next with character moments or dialogue which come across as being silly with no middle ground in between.
The greatest blow dealt to the film lies within it's scriptwriting. Old boasts a compelling concept that's translated onto the screen in a fashion which feels poorly written. The audience is given random background information regarding specific characters, that feels awkwardly placed in the film rather than naturally blending with the plot. The characters in the story feel shallow but developed just enough to possess distinct personalities with them being fed dialogue serving as both expositional and clunky. The script offers characters which often feel like generic stereotypes in a typical mystery thriller with the revealing of their backstories or job professions feeling convenient only for the plot. Examples include one character experiencing a nasty side-effect to aging on the beach with another revealing themselves to be a nurse or doctor with no lead-in prior. Characters are briefly introduced giving the impression that they're integral to the part then immediately disposed of without any backstory prior. A characters rap name is mentioned by another young character with both the acting and delivery feeling awkwardly forced. As writer-director, Shyamalan doesn't stick to the conventional forms of storytelling with Old serving as definite proof of that. Known for his shocking plot twists, the one presented in Old comes off as being more of a head scratcher rather than experiencing the kind of jump moment that The Sixth Sense delivered.
Shyamalan's films are not ones that are devoid of interesting ideas. His concepts show potential with his eagerness to rush the stories to their surprise twist endings rather than strengthen the characters and plot, becoming his films downfall along with performances that feel over-the-top. Shyamalan's career as a filmmaker has always consisted of him running for the fence in going against the traditional norms of storytelling. Old continues that trend while showcasing both his strengths and weaknesses as a filmmaker. Ranking it among his other works, it fits in the middle of his filmography. It's not his worst effort and often feels like it could've worked had the filmmaker exercised more restraint, or if it was placed in the hands of a more focused filmmaker. Perhaps someday Shyamalan will produce a film that'll remind audiences of his talent as a unique filmmaker which drew them to him in the first place.
Unfortunately, this isn't it.
Final Verdict: Skip It
Images courtesy of Universal Pictures
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