The Ones Below

I'm a big fan of cult classics such as Rosemary's Baby so when I saw the trailer to this movie, I was intrigued.

The first third of the movie was quite well done; the mood was creepy and weird as intended, the actors were marvelous; the suspense really drew me in and I wanted to find out how this movie would pan out.

Then it got reeeeeally slow. It dragged on and the repetitiveness made it very hard to push through. Midway through, the mystery of the plot has already become quite obvious and predictable as it has been constantly spelled out to us over and over again. So by the end, the only way to save this movie is for an unexpected twist instead of the predictable ending. But no twist. Just a creepy, linear story with ok acting.

'THE ONES BELOW': Four Stars (Out of Five)

A British thriller flick, written and directed by David Farr. It stars Clemence Poesy, Stephen Campbell Moore, David Morrissey and Laura Birn. The film is about a couple, that's expecting a child, that gets into severe conflict with another couple, expecting their own child, that lives beneath them. The movie got good reviews from critics, and I enjoyed it as well.

Kate (Poesy) and Justin (Moore) are expecting their first child. A new couple, named Teresa (Birn) and Jon (Morrissey), just moved into the apartment below them; and they're expecting their first baby as well. The two couples meet, and have dinner together. Something goes horribly wrong, and the couples find themselves at great odds with each other.

The film is very slow-building, at first, and that really tried my patience; but once the story really gets going, the movie becomes very interesting. The characters are all really well written, and acted. The film is also nicely stylized, with creepy, and sometimes very unsettling, atmosphere. The twist at the end is not that shocking though (not nearly as much as the filmmakers appear to think), and (again) the first half of the movie is very slow-paced.

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Great cast, great performances, great direction...but the script...it was as if the writers either got bored of the whole thing or hastily finished it on deadline day.

An absorbing, at times very tense buildup, hints at something possibly occult going on, but then a rushed ending that didn't need the buildup! It begins with a kind of Rosemary's Baby feel to it but the plot and tension builds to a certain level then remains there at that pace for the rest of the film.

Well worth watching, but just enjoy the actors and mood and don't expect to be blown away by any clever plot twists and turns.

It should have been shown as a Sunday evening BBC2 play or something.

"The Ones Below" is a decent enough little chamber piece on the perils of parenting, particularly if you suspect the neighbors downstairs covet your new-born baby. It marks the directorial debut of writer David Farr, (he wrote "The Night Manager" for television), and it's nicely done but in the end it's just too unpleasant to be entertaining. Basically a four-hander and well played by Clemence Poesy as the new mother convinced her neighbors are up to no good and by David Morrissey and Laura Birn as the neighbors, (personally I would have moved out five minutes after they moved in). It's let down only by Stephen Campbell Moore as Poesy's partner. Considering his outing in a similar role in the nasty little horror picture "The Children" some years back I would suggest Mr Campbell Moore get the snip sooner rather than later.

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.