I don’t know folks, maybe I’m getting older and my taste in movies is going out of whack. I’ve seen several people on the internet, that say Stoker is a brilliant movie, amazing even and after I watched it, my first thought was, meh. I mean, it was alright and had some interesting plot points going on with it and there are times when the movie is beautifully shot, although sometimes bordering on artsy fartsy more than anything (no offence, director of Oldboy, Chan-wook Park and cinematographer Chung-hoon Chung). I guess I’m just different…
Short nitty-gritty plot description from IMDb is as follows: After India’s father dies, her Uncle Charlie, who she never knew existed, comes to live with her and her unstable mother. She comes to suspect this mysterious, charming man has ulterior motives and becomes increasingly infatuated with him.
Tatlock’s Quick ‘n Dirty Recap: Honestly, I don’t really want to waste anymore of my time on summarizing the movie more than what IMDb has already done. Pretty much what you read above, is what the movie is about, with a few twists that you will probably see coming a mile away.
Tatlock’s Opinion: This is probably where I’ll get most of the hate, as it seems a lot of people are getting hot and bothered over this movie and how masterful it is and how wonderful and layered the story can be. Personally, I was bored for a good portion of the movie. Yes, the movie is filmed with a masterful hand, often times I was lost in how wonderful it looked, but after that wore off, I was on the verge of falling asleep.
I’ll give the movie one thing, it has some brilliant performances in it, specially Mia Wasikowska, as India. Her innocence at first, running through the fields, childlike, is completely shattered, once she is given word her only true guardian in life (her mother is more worried about keeping up appearances, than loving her daughter) has passed away. From there she closes up and it’s not until Charles shows up, played by Matthew Goode, that she starts to realize exactly who she is in life. Wasikowska hits all the right notes and gives you one big reason to watch Stoker.
Verdict: I didn’t hate Stoker, but I didn’t like it either. It’s certainly not a bad movie in any sense of the word, it just wasn’t for me. Rating the movie is difficult, as I know some people are absolutely going to fall in love with the story and cinematography. With the performances being rock solid, I give this a middle of the road score, but know that for most other people, even maybe you, it will be much higher.
Rating:
