Stoker (2013)

* Also published on Imdb *

Another masterpiece by Park, who playfully, coldly and ruthlessly explores the darkness of the human psyche.

The movie is not only as good as the trailer, but hugely better and even more mysterious and captivating. It simply blows your mind away. Fortunately, I ignored the negative Anglophobe reviews and watched it. It's the most complete artistic work by Chan-wook Park in his career so far, an ingenious masterpiece, with the only minor complaint being the lack of the explicit violence he depicts in his Korean movies; this is not his fault though, but the request of the American companies involved, and still he manages to make us shiver with the cruelty of the violent scenes depicted and insinuated.

To fully appreciate this movie, you must have watched Old Boy and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, and in general to be a fan of Korean and Japanese cinema. The script is excellent, violent, unpredicted, the plot mysterious and sinister, and not for those who love the silliness of American spoon-fed cinema. If you don't like or understand international cinema, then don't bother. This movie and Matthew Goode's performance are Oscar material, if Oscars were not political travesties.

I have never watched such a cinematic masterpiece before. Highly stylised, every move, every word, the posture of the actors, every tiny detail has a meaning. The mansion filmed on location has an ominous air of decadence. The plot is clearly outlined: India is a strange girl, with something dark and off about her. Her mother is a depressed rich stay-at-home housewife, and we understand that her marriage has become a chore. When India's father has a mysterious car accident, uncle Charlie, an unbelievably handsome man, suddenly appears. And bad things start happening. Who, what and why? The movie builds up the plot and the suspension like a dance or the notes of a symphony! This is something I have felt with other movies by Park, and they are the only movies I watch again and again to fully take in and appreciate every detail, and the beautiful music throughout. Little by little, every nod, word, step, bring us to the climax, to the end, the answer to the questions and the harsh reality. There are no easy supernatural explanations here. Only the malevolence of the human heart.

"Stoker" is a beautiful, twisted, hypnotic trance it's meant for an audience not overly concrete in it's thinking but who have an open imagination and are able to take the plunge into the darkly poetic vision of it's director. The three principle actors are superb but Mia Wasikowska really gives the film a beating heart, as she emerges from her innocense into her latent self. This movie is filled with images that are as disturbing as they are lyrical and open to endless interpretation. I've seen the movie three times in theaters and find that my impressions change with each viewing and that it has really haunted my imagination. "Stoker" is one of those unique and mysterious masterpieces that I'm sure I will be returning to frequently over the years there's much to drink in, as the well runs deep,

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STOKER is a strange little film that unfurls its blossom of a story in manner that draws the viewer into the hauntingly bizarre family with fine writing (actor Wentworth Miller with Erin Cressida Wilson), fine directing (Chan-wook Park), fine art direction (Wing Lee) fine casting and some of the most beautiful cinematography of the year (Chung-hoon Chung). The magnetism of the film beings while the credits are being shown over the background of a beautifully wooded area where a girl is walking toward a roadside. The voice over, that of the main character India Stoker, states `My ears hear what others cannot hear; small faraway things people cannot normally see are visible to me. These senses are the fruits of a lifetime of longing, longing to be rescued, to be completed. Just as the skirt needs the wind to billow, I'm not formed by things that are of myself alone. I wear my father's belt tied around my mother's blouse, and shoes which are from my uncle. This is me. Just as a flower does not choose its color, we are not responsible for what we have come to be. Only once you realize this do you become free, and to become adult is to become free.'

The plot can be summarized as follows without providing information that would destroy the suspenseful movement of this strange story: India Stoker (Mia Wasikowska) was not prepared to lose her father and best friend Richard (Dermot Mulroney) in a tragic auto accident. The solitude of her woodsy family estate, the peace of her tranquil town, and the unspoken somberness of her home life are suddenly upended by not only this mysterious accident, but by the sudden arrival of her Uncle Charlie (Matthew Goode), whom she never knew existed. When Charlie moves in with her and her emotionally unstable mother Evie (Nicole Kidman), India thinks the void left by her father's death is finally being filled by his closest bloodline. Soon after his arrival, India comes to suspect that this mysterious, charming man has ulterior motives. Yet instead of feeling outrage or horror, this friendless young woman becomes increasingly infatuated with him. Yet it is on her 18th birthday that things dramatically change. There are plot twists that defy expectations in this movie whose elegant creativity is the biggest twist of all.

The musical score for the film is the work of Clint Mansell who repeatedly inserts excerpts from Verdi's opera `Il Trovatore' the aria `Stride la Vampa' sung by the ominous gypsy Azucena (`Screeches the blaze!
The restless mob
runs to the fire
with happy faces'). Every detail of this polished thriller has been expertly conceived. The strong supporting cast includes Phyllis Somerville, Jacki Weaver, Lucas Till, Alden Ehrenreich and others. This is an example of expert film craftsmanship on the part of everyone concerned. Grady Harp, June 13

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Stoker is the type of film you don't see very often. It has a small cast with huge star power, a brilliant script, expertly crafted design in both set and costume, and a truly fascinating story. The film is told less through dialogue and more through action, facial expression, and the imagery of a scene. Stoker doesn't spoon-feed its audience. It expects them to be attentive and alert, ready to come to their own conclusions.

As a horror film it is strangely elegant. As a romance film it is quite disturbing. As a coming-of-age film, it is simply chilling!

Nicole Kidman, Matthew Goode, and Mia Wasikowska all provide some wonderful acting here. Kidman's talent is to be expected, but Goode and Wasikowska are especially impressive. Matthew Goode is nearly unrecognizable in his emotions on display here and Mia Wasikowska completely owns the role. Its hard to take your eyes off these characters.

The elegance of the set and costume design is surprising, giving the film an unusual style; the shifts in tone contrasted with the various designs often times creates a sense of disorientation yet overflows with beauty. The camera dances in expertly crafted movements, which is never a distraction, giving the film another layer of polish.

Music and sound design is expertly crafted as well. Classical piano and strings fill the score, while the sounds of the Stoker House are startlingly clear (due to a character's ability to hear extremely well). The sound of India cracking an egg, for example, will surprise many viewers. She is in-tune with the world around her, and the sound design helps create this illusion flawlessly.

This truly is one of the more interesting films of the past few years, one which cinephiles will eat up and more casual viewers should be intrigued by. Film: 4.5/5 STARS

The blu-ray's video quality is superb. Closeups are stunning and the cinematography is gorgeous, presented neatly in 1080pHD. Colors burst and black levels are excellent. Video: 4.5/5 STARS

Audio is a real highlight here. Like I said, Stoker sounds great. The music, the sound effects, its all captured well on the blu-ray. Dialogue is easy to hear as it moves around the sound-stage. Audio: 5/5 STARS

Extras include Deleted Scenes, Making Of videos, Photo galleries, and more. While most of the extra material is nice to watch, it doesn't spoon-feed the audience more answers and leaves the film's ambiguity intact. There isn't a commentary track. Extras: 3.5/5 STARS

Overall: 4.5/5 STARS. Stoker is a dark coming-of-age-horror-romance-mystery done very well and it has been given a wonderful blu-ray release.

Rating: R. A few scenes of disturbing violence, some shown, some implied, will disturb some viewers. Brief graphic sexual content in one scene is rather disturbing. Blood in a few scenes. Name-calling/vulgar insults might upset some viewers. Ages 17 and up.

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Except for several people being killed, almost nothing happened in this movie. Dark, moody, pregnant with suspense, with no follow through. A total waste of time and money (epecially since it weas higher priced $4.99). Not sure it would be worth it to see it for free actually.

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