Old (2021)
It says something that the of the top searches for M. Night is “Is M. Night Shyamalan good?”
Sitting down to write this one was the first time this newsletter felt like work. I want to procrastinate and put this at the bottom of my list but, I’ve got deadlines set by… myself. And I can’t let her down, you know? This week I’m covering M. Night Shyamalan’s Old (2021) and I’m already tired so strap the hell in. Also -- I am going to “spoil” most of this man’s movies so, Reader beware!
It says a lot that the of the top searches for M. Night is “Is M. Night Shyamalan good?” A question that has been asked at film school parties since someone first pointed out that there’s water in our atmosphere, and wouldn’t that have killed the aliens in Signs?
If I just somehow spoiled Signs for you I’m sorry, but it came out in 2002 and I believe the statute of limitations for spoilers is 10 years.
…
Shit, sorry, I just went down an internet rabbit hole reading about Signs theories on Reddit and was simultaneously worried and fascinated. Back to the task at hand.
Quick Plot Overview! What’s great about this movie is its plot is pretty basic and none of the characters actually go through any changes so I can sum it up quick: A group of strangers staying at a luxury resort are dropped off at a beach for a day of fun in the sun. They soon realize they can’t leave the island AND that they’re aging rapidly. Like one hour equating to two years of life. They try to find a way off the island while adjusting to their ever-older bodies.
Great premise, right?
I want to get right into it and address the “twist” because it sucks. So, if you haven’t seen old and you intend to, I’d stop reading right now and come back later. [Waits patiently for browser tabs to close.] Ok, so now it’s just us, people who have either sat through this movie or those who don’t care to (smart choice btw), I can get going.
M. Night is known for always having a twist or a surprise ending that makes you scratch your head and go -- oh really? His best reveal still is (and honestly probably always will be) the twist at the end of The Sixth Sense where Bruce Willis realizes that he himself is a ghost. I don’t know if this still holds up for me because it was so deeply terrifying and scarring for me as a child or what, but it doesn’t matter. It’s a great twist that serves its subject matter. It actually makes sense within the established plot and means something to our characters.
With Old, the twist doesn’t add anything to the story or the character arcs. The grand reveal is that while the beach itself is a naturally occurring phenomenon, a pharmaceutical company has harnessed its power to find cures for all of humanity’s ailments. You kind of get this right from the get-go when our lead Guy (Gael Garcia Bernal) finds a pamphlet for the company in their resort room. And when they’re greeted by an incredibly attractive woman who gives them drinks based on their preference profiles. We find out later that these concoctions are potential cures that the company is testing. I suppose what this reveal is supposed to make you question is if the death of a few people is worth saving the lives of millions. Which some guy explains to a room full of people (who probably already knew this since they work there.)
This doesn’t sit right with me for a number of reasons I can get over but there are two I can’t shake. The first is that the kids traveling with their parents have nothing wrong with them medically and are then forced through puberty and adulthood at an alarming rate that confuses and damages them emotionally with no obvious benefit to the company’s research. Sure, testing adults with illnesses for the greater good is one thing but these people are actively fucking up perfectly healthy kids. Why not find some other lady with a tumor? Or find couples who will be traveling alone? If you want me to be conflicted by the pharmaceutical company’s work at the end -- don’t fill the island with perfectly healthy children too.
The second thing nagging me is that the pharmaceutical company is depicted as only caring about saving millions of lives. It is never once mentioned by anyone on the team that they’re also probably making a shit ton of money. Again, I think the reveal is supposed to make me question morality like an Ethics 101 class, but leaves a lot to be questioned that doesn’t make me feel conflicted at all. The company is evil. Full stop. That’s it. Now, if the goal of the reveal wasn’t to make us question anything and just was supposed to be scary, well, I guess that works. Except for the scary part.
Outside of the twist the movie is just weirdly paced and I agree with the guys over at Red Letter Media (they did a great 5-minute review of this), who said that each one of these actors is giving an all-time bad performance. We’ve seen a lot of these people in other movies where they’re absolutely great -- namely Alex Wolff, Rufus Sewell, and Gael Garcia Bernal. These are talented actors and they look like they’re reading cue cards at gunpoint for the entire 108 minutes. Please just watch the below clip and you’ll see what I mean:
On top of the bad acting, the script was distracting. I watch a lot of bad movies and I’ve never spent so much time questioning a script and thinking about it as I did for this one. Everyone’s occupations are brought up or bluntly delivered in such awkward ways I thought they must play into the twist at the end. Why shoehorn in every single adult’s job title if not? For example, Trent, the six-year-old son of Guy and Prisca (Vicky Krieps), runs around the resort asking people for their names and occupations when he first arrives. And then later Patricia (Nikki Amuka-Bird) asks everyone to stand in a circle and introduce themselves with their occupation even though all hell is breaking loose. Some people introduce themselves with their job titles unprompted. It’s bizarre and forces the viewer to look for meaning where there isn’t any. And just—who talks like that?
There is some payoff to this at the end when adult Trent (Emun Elliott) and adult Maddox (Embeth Davidtz) escape the beach. They remember the man at the resort who is a police officer because of Trent’s bizarre occupational inquest from earlier. Honestly, if that was the only reason for all the weird occupational exposition (and it appears it was) I am really, really crabby about it. I have to wonder if this was an attempt at Camp that failed because there wasn’t enough winking or jokes.
To heal my wounds I’m going to order myself a copy of the source material for this-- a graphic novel called Sandcastle. It sounds infinitely creepier and ends without the pharmaceutical twist and in a much more despairing way. That makes me sound dark but I like when a story carries a little weight. Call me crazy.
I don’t want to end on a low note so here’s a list of what I did like about this movie:
Charles’ (Rufus Sewell) dementia and violent tendencies
The rapper named “Mid-Sized Sedan”
The discomfort of M. Night Shyamalan playing a character who doesn’t do his job well
The “White-Lotusness” of the resort
The rapid healing and scarring of people’s bodies
If you’ve made it to the end of this one, congratulations! If you paused, went and watched it, and came back, I’m sorry.
SOURCES:
https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-reviews/m-night-shyamalan-old-movie-review-1201292/
https://www.amazon.com/Sandcastle-Pierre-Oscar-Levy/dp/1906838380
https://slate.com/culture/2021/07/old-m-night-shyamalan-movie-twist-ending-spoilers.html