One owner, both play very well, gently handled
SNOW WHITE:
From its dark and complex themes to its archetypal imagery, the Grimm fable of the innocent and beautiful Snow White has captured readers for centuries, but it has not often been given accurate treatment on film. SNOW WHITE: A TALE OF TERROR attempts to do this with magnificent performances, stunning Gothic scenery and costumes, and a well-crafted script that brings out the nuances in the original story. Seven years after a tragic accident has killed his wife just as she is giving birth, Frederick Hoffman (Sam Neill)--who alone cares for their daughter Lilli (Taryn Davis as the younger and Monica Keena as the older)--remarries Lady Claudia (Sigourney Weaver). Claudia arrives at his estate, bringing with her a creepy, intricately carved mirror. She has also brought along her mute brother (Miroslav Taborsky). It is not long before this eager stepmother and the wary daughter are locked in an endless cycle of jealously and hurt feelings. Reading into the deeper, psychological implications of this complex family situation, and the story's many symbolic elements (the poison apple, the outcast hermitlike woodsmen), the film is both visually graphic and emotionally subtle. Not for children, this SNOW WHITE is for thinking adults who enjoy more than one good scare.
IDENTITY, directed by James Mangold, is a thriller set at an isolated motel in rural Nevada during an unrelenting rainstorm. With all roads washed out and all forms of communication dead, a group of people become stranded at the motel along with the shifty manager (John Hawkes). Among the stranded are Ed (John Cusack), a former cop turned limo driver; Caroline (Rebecca De Mornay), a self-absorbed actress; Paris (Amanda Peet), a prostitute attempting to escape her profession; Rhodes (Ray Liotta), a cop transporting a prisoner (Jake Busey); Lou (William Lee Scott) and Ginny (Clea DuVall), bickering newlyweds; and George (John McGinley) and Alice (Leila Kenzle), a married couple travelling with their young son. Soon the waterlogged lodgers start dying in mysterious--and brutal--ways, and the increasingly dwindling number of survivors must discover the killer to prevent their own demises.Riveting from the opening sequence, Mangold's suspenseful murder mystery wastes no time in turning on the tension. Realizing that truly scary cinema comes from the unknown and the unexpected, Mangold and screenwriter Michael Cooney keep the audience--and the film's characters--in the dark and continually create situations that go from bad to worse for the luckless travelers. Cusack anchors the film as the resigned but noble former policeman, while Peet reveals a depth previously unseen in her other movies. Actors such as Liotta, McGinley, Hawkes, and De Mornay round out the fine ensemble cast. As with many thrillers, IDENTITY has a big twist, but because of the filmmakers' excellent slight of hand, it's unlikely viewers will predict the bizarre outcome.
M. Night Shyamalan's THE VILLAGE finds the renowned writer-director crafting a suspenseful story of a small community whose inhabitants are plagued by fear of the unknown forest that surrounds them. For years, they have kept a truce with mysterious creatures in the woods by vowing never to breach a clearly defined border. However, when a young man (Joaquin Phoenix) becomes determined to explore the nearby towns, his actions are met with menacing consequences.Shyamalan continues his remarkable streak of entrancing and entertaining thrillers (THE SIXTH SENSE, UNBREAKABLE, SIGNS) with THE VILLAGE. A meticulous filmmaker, Shyamalan displays his penchant for setting up a fascinating atmosphere in every aspect of the movie, from its distinctive color scheme to its intentionally genteel dialogue to its outstanding cinematography, courtesy of Roger Deakins. Renowned cast members Phoenix, William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, and Adrien Brody are excellent, but the true standout is Bryce Dallas Howard (daughter of director Ron Howard), who embodies the heart of the film with her vulnerable but fiercely vital performance. Like Shyamalan's other movies, THE VILLAGE has a distinct twist that offers shocking revelations, but this film's overwhelming sense of menace is what is sure to resonate with viewers long after it's over.