The Ones Below

Partly funded by the BBC and premiering at the Toronto and London Film Festivals, The Ones Below is a demonstration of the lack of imagination in British cinematic language that's really disheartening. British cinema is often great from the eyes of an auteur with something to say, such as Mike Leigh, Terence Davies and Shane Meadows, but when it comes to something like this which is supposed to simply be a piece of thrilling entertainment, it's disappointingly one- dimensional. I yearn for more emerging voices to get this type of exposure instead. The Ones Below is like a very good and expensive student film. Had it been conceived from a recent graduate, it'd earn a bit more of a pass. Instead, it's overthought and underdeveloped, too often opting for cheaper tricks and easier melodrama.

Clémence Poésy, a familiar face from her role in Harry Potter, In Bruges and 127 Hours, plays mother-to-be Kate who just moved into the top half of a duplex with her husband Justin, played by Stephen Campbell Moore. Apprehensive about their downstairs neighbours, they avoid them until Kate discovers that Teresa, played by Laura Birn, is equally far along with her pregnancy. They swiftly become friends and she invites Teresa and her intimidating husband Jon, played by David Morrissey, upstairs for dinner. Though friction with conflicting personalities initially rustles tensions, it's an unbearable tragedy at the dinner's end that sparks the film's ultimate story of parental paranoia in the vein of Roman Polanski's memorable motifs on women in apartments.

To be fair, Poésy really commits to the film in the first performance I've seen from her which isn't somewhere between a bit part and a supporting character. She combats the melodrama with a rawness that really benefits the film. The problems come in the film's contrivances and staging where each actor's hesitations and reactions are over measured. Perhaps this is due to writer/director David Farr's previous theatre background, as it very clearly shows his lack of nuance when it comes to the bigger screen. Throughout the whole aforementioned dinner sequence, Morrisey's eyes are shrouded in shadows as if the idea of his menacing nature couldn't have been more subtly communicated. But admittedly, in its simplicity it is entertaining and engaging, but it's not satisfying to be so spoon-fed. The questions it asks are superficial albeit acceptable if this was designed for Britain's smaller screen.

There's not an inch of the frame wasted as they try desperately to make this two-story narrative cinematic. It works, and it's thoroughly attractive, but it's almost too full and vibrant, not reflecting the rough tone that the film should have. Spending money on lights and cranes which are just used for unmotivated movement remove the film of a human grounding that it's begging for. It does offer this reflection of how Kate feels later on as it grows more rugged and desperate, but it doesn't stitch together in a way that really puts you in her head, and by that point it's too late. The scenes feel more like examples of feelings rather than following a strong narrative thread, developing the characters beyond well worn archetypes. The language it uses is based in clichés rather than speaking a compelling voice of its own.

Otherwise it's trying too hard to cover all ground as it shoehorns in a subplot regarding Kate's relationship with her parents. We have a distant mother who's unfathomably selfish and then some kind of connection with her dead father as she for some reason must brave the weather to visit her grave and leave her child in the hands of someone she explicitly doesn't trust. The film often defies logic for the sake of an empty gravitas. It's piling lots of ideas about relationships in social classes and anxieties about motherhood but never really exploring a single theme to a particular result. In fact, its terrifying conclusion ends up being a relieving best case scenario. It'd be unfair to call it a complete mess and its effort isn't wasted. I just expect much better things from well-resourced British cinema that doesn't resort to appealing to the least perceptive people in the room.

6/10

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Character buildup. For most of the movie. Too bad they are so two dimensional it hurts, some drastic change of behavior is supposed to be intriguing when it's just a welcomed announcement that things are actually moving towards the ending, which is obvious right from the start.

Don't miss the blatant, obnoxious plot device near the middle, or you might actually get surprised by some detail at the end. The Hand That Rocks The Cradle even had that more subtly, in addition with a decently paced script. Which is another crappy movie, but fairly entertaining for its time.

Acting isn't bad, until daddy throws his fit, but the plot is bad, predictable, and dare I say, unimaginative. A TV movie from the 80's.

Well Acted and Suspenseful Psychological Thriller that is held Down by an Obvious Ending that is Telegraphed in the Second Act. There is No Twist to that and once the Twist is No Longer a Twist, everything is Less than it could be.

The Ending is also Drawn Out like it Thinks You didn't see it coming. Oh My! Didn't Everyone? So the Third Act is a Ho Hum, get it Over with affair. It isn't a Bad Movie just one that is Short on Surprises and in a Psycho-Thriller that's a Death Sentence.

The Cast tries hard and the Emotional Dial is set at 10 most of the Time and it makes for some Engagement and Intrigue, but it really has Nowhere to Go after the Middle. The Movie is Shot with some Style, but the Familiarity with the Story is its Premature Problem.

Overall, Worth a Watch but Ultimately a Let Down for those accustomed to this Type of Thing. A Good Effort Overall, but Average or just Slightly Above.

I kept waiting for a twist, or SOMETHING to keep my interest, but it never came. "Gas Light" for a first time mom. The best thing about it was Gene Pitney singing "Take Me Tonight" at the end. Why this song? That was the only unpredictable thing in the entire movie. And the ending was crazy and totally illogical.

I think David Farr gave more time to this thriller than to his much- anticipated and more popular le Carre adaptation, The Night Manager. For this one is a real winner between the two, despite of the variance in genre.

Kate (Poesy) and Justin (Moore) are a sweet preggers couple living in peace in the upper part of a duplex apartment. The newest renters of the lower part are another sweet but superstitious couple from Germany, Theresa (Birn) and Jon (Morrissey), also expecting a child. Soon after they move in. an emotionally devastating incident brings endless grief to the ones below and paranoia to their luckier neighbors above, especially to Kate. Because Kate thinks that Theresa and Jon might have some ulterior motive. And then the plot starts moving swiftly, exhibiting some great cinematography and writing as it moves.

Poesy is excellent in her enactment of an anxious mother of a newborn. Her petite appearance helps and so does the support from her spouse who is a rather normal husband torn between work and personal life. Theresa and Jon steal the limelight, and the writer aptly denotes and connects them with the color yellow that is effervescent of their apparent darker side.

The story involves human nature and the extent to which it can go when stricken with sorrow. Consequences and damages stop being concerns as the person quests to achieve what is not rationally right and what can only be achieved through crime. Farr has written the story well, and with the backing that he gets from the camera and score, he definitely places his attempt in the good baskets.

BOTTOM LINE: David Farr's The Ones Below is a finely made film with some good actors playing natural and slightly eccentric characters who are just trying to manage life... and death. A good afternoon watch at the cinema.

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES