Old

After all these years, M. Night Shyamalan still remained almost divisive as ever. However, the one constant throughout his career is that his films/projects all have an interesting - sometimes fascinating - concept. It is usually the execution and delivery that makes or breaks a Shyamalan film. 

And in Old, which was based on a Swiss graphic novel, the central conceit was tantalising and Shyamalan's direction, and camerawork with Mike Gioulakis were highly effective in capturing the tension, foreboding and dread. However, it absolutely failed in the writing (screenplay credited to Shyamalan) and the acting. 

Firstly, the direction here was really good. Shyamalan managed to capture my interest with a mystery box thriller and the narrative clipped along at a good pace. At only 108 minutes long, this was efficient storytelling. The mystery box was slowly revealed but, like all good J.J. Abrams shows, never fully explained which was acceptable if you have already conceded to the genre. Genre-fans just want a plausible ending the befitted the story's internal logic, and in this sense, Old succeeded. Further, Shyamalan ratchet up the thrill factor with innovative camerawork, camera choices and editing, and not just relying on shock and scare tactics. 

However, for all the good the directorial work did, the dialogue brought it all back crashing down. The screenplay was atrociously clunky and heavy-handed, with characters laden with exposition rather than reflection. 

And then we have the acting which bordered on amateurish and caricature-like especially when the usually talented actors were asked to deliver clunkers. We know Gael Garcia Bernal and Rufus Sewell to be better actors than this. Perhaps, only Thomasin McKenzie and Alex Wolff came out unscathed from this (and maybe Eliza Scanlen too). Shyamalan should have focused more of the film on the children.

It might have been truly better - and perhaps even more innovative - if Shyamalan had directed this a la A Quiet Place, Bird Box or even Sound of Metal. The psychological dread, so masterfully triggered by the directing, could have been amplified to the n-th degree with the absence of one of the senses. A few of the best scenes in Old were just like that. Although, if maintained for a whole film, Shyamalan might be accused of being unoriginal. 

Old had a very interesting concept and I can see this being a very successful television series (mini or otherwise). There is a very strong Lost vibe to it and with better writing - and a great cast - this could have been another M. Night Shyamalan success story. But for now, it will likely languish with the likes of The Village and Glass. At least it was not as bad as The Happening or After Earth.