Poster Source. Edited on Canva
After the last review I made in the community, I have become very excited about the idea of writing about movies. I've found something I can really do and just be me. So, with that, I have decided to write about a movies I saw a while ago by title, Old. Brace yourselves friends and try to relax as you go through my post today.
Synopsis
Struggling couple, Guy and Prisca Capa, decide to go on a vacation with their kids, Trent and Maddox, to ease through a divorce. They find a resort on an island where they are offered special treatment and exclusive access to a private beach. After meeting several other visitors on the beach, the group realizes that all is not what it seems on this beach and their lives are endangered. With so little time, the group have to figure out how to escape this strange place.
Can they work together to survive the mysterious beach?
Context
Genre: Horror/Mystery Release Date: August 2021 Screen time: 1hr 48 minutes
Adapted from the 2013 novel, Sandcastle, Old tells the story of an unhappy couple who decides to take their kids on vacation as a way of soothing the effects of their dysfunctional relationship on them. They arrive at a resort where they are treated quite well. To "spice up" their experience, they are offered access to a beautiful but private beach with no extra pay and "no catch" except that they'd keep it a secret.
The family is taken to another part of the island alongside a Doctor, Charles, his wife, Chrystal, His mother, Agnes, daughter, Kara and their Dog Gustav. After getting dropped off at a distance, they walk to the beach where the meet a rapper named Mid-Sized Sedan.
Everything seems fine on the beach until the body of a lady is discovered. As the group tries to figure out how she died, they are joined on the beach by Nurse, Jarin and his wife, Patricia. They try to contact the resort but there is no signal. They also try to leave the beach but are unsuccessful for some reason.
Things get really crazy when the kids start to get older. The body of the dead lady decomposes quickly and injuries heal in seconds. Joining all the dots, the group realize that they were quickly running out of a very precious resource - Time.
Tick Tock Tick Tock. Time is faster on the beach. The kids are getting older while the adults are aging faster. Heck, someone even conceives and delivers in minutes. The group tries to work together but panic and confusion set in. Will anyone survive this race against time?
How I came across the movie/Initial thoughts
I found this movie on YouTube. A friend had seen the trailer and decided to play it for me. I noted the date and added a reminder on my phone for when it was going to be released because it looked kind of interesting.
Horror and Mystery are always a good mix. I like the suspense that comes with mysterious movies. For this movie, I really wanted to know why time was fast on that beach and how they got the in the first place. I hadn't heard of the Sandcastle book before this movie so the idea of a movie like this was quite smart to me. So yeah, I could not wait for the movie to be released.
Thoughts after seeing the movie(Watch or Pass)
1. Light and Color: The first thing I noticed about the movie is the lighting and colors used. In the movie, we can see a predominance in yellow and blue colors. The yellow is more or less like a beige shade which I have seen in a number of mystery movies. I think the colors help to make the movie seem ominous passing the message that this movie is definitely not supposed to be happy. Also, like the title, the colors add a vintage effect to the movie.
2. Sound: The sound was not so great in my opinion. The sound was poorly filtered. Sometimes the sound of the ocean waves would overlap the voices of the actors. The soundtracks were also not very good especially in the end. The music should have been selected better so as to match the emotions in each scene.
3: The trap: I really loved the way resort manager convinced the family to visit the private beach. In that part, he called them a nice family but from the story we know that the household isn't so nice. That's some irony right there.
4. Special effects: The special effects and makeup were quite good in my opinion. A solid win for the makers in that aspect.
5. The actors could have been better: Yeah on this, I really think the characters could have been a little more expressive. This goes for most of the side characters and some of the major ones.
6. The Maddoxs have different accents: I think there should have been a better level of consideration when it came to choosing the actors especially for a movie like this. Little Maddox and Older Maddox have a normal American accent but young-adult Maddox has a different accent. A lot of people might not notice this but I did.
7. A crappy ending: I have to admit I was disappointed at the way this movie ended. Still on the matter of bad acting, the characters did not show a lot of emotion. There was really a lack of expression especially in the end where we needed it the most. The Soundtrack could have also been better for such an ending. I was frankly disappointed with the way the movie ended.
8. What the hell was this guy's deal?:
The doctor had some bad ideas about Black people and Asians in his head. In the film we can see how he treats people from other races and how bad it gets thanks to his mental problems. This is a good representation of a disease in the society that is rapidly destroying lives.
The Verdict...
If you were thinking of seeing this movie, don't bother. I rate it as a Pass. This is just my opinion though. You can still check it out if you want.
Characters and their actors
Best Act
Alex Wolff
For a movie that I lost almost all hope on, this guy was a joy to watch. Playing adolescence Trent, Wolff was able to adequately show the spontaneity of adolescence especially with how fast they were growing. The actor drives a good amount of passion in the character.
Worst Act
Thomasin McKenzie
She played the part of adolescence and young-adult Maddox. For me, she just didn't cut it. Sometimes during the movie, the actress seems a little confused or unfocused.
Other Actors include:
Gael García Bernal As Guy Capa
Vicky Krieps As Prisca Capa
Gustaf Hammarsten As The Resort MAnager
Rufus Sewell As Charles
Abbey Lee As Chrystal
Ken Leung As Jarin
Nikki Amuka-Bird As Patricia
Aaron Pierre As Mid-Sized Sedan
Kailen Jude As Idlib
Emun Elliot As Adult Trent
Embeth Davidtz As Adult Maddox
Movie Trailer
Conclusion
Although I didn't really enjoy this movie in the end I was able to pick up a few things. Seeing the characters struggle to live their whole lives in a single day had an impact on me. The movie teaches us to let go of our pride and grudges and just hold our loved ones tight because time isn't a guarantee. So guys let's seize every opportunity we have to spend time with the people we love and let them know how much they mean :).
And that's it for this post. I hope you enjoyed going through it. Thanks for your time but before you go...
