The Others
Director: Alejandro Amenabar
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Alakina Mann, James Bentley, Fionnula Flanagan, Christopher Eccleston, Eric Sykes, Elaine Cassidy, Renee Asherson, Keith Allen, Michelle Fairley, Alexander Vince, Ricardo Lopez, Aldo Grilo, Gordon Reid
Grace (Nicole Kidman), the devoutly religious mother of Anne (Alakina Mann) and Nicholas (James Bentley), moves her family to the English countryside following World War II. She awaits word on her missing husband, Charles, while protecting her children from a rare photosensitivity that causes them to burn in sunlight. When Grace’s daughter, Anne, claims she sees ghosts, her mother initially thinks the new servants are playing tricks, but chilling events and visions make Grace believe that something supernatural has occurred, and she must protect her children from this unseen entity, as well as the light.
The light plays an intriguing role in the film in symbolizing how Grace fights to protect herself and her young children from literally going towards the bright light of death.
They say there is a moment, just before death, when the dying person sees a bright light… hence the adage “don’t go towards the light if you don’t want to die” They are drawn to the light, like a moth to a flame, and in that moment, they experience perfect joy, as they are reunited with their loved ones and experience a feeling of perfect bliss. By keeping her house shrouded in eternal darkness, and not allowing any sunlight to come in, Grace is protecting her children from the light, not because the children are allergic to the light, but because acknowledging the light and allowing it to penetrate through the darkness that has enshrouded their home, would mean Grace acknowledging the truth… that she and her children, Anne and Nicholas, are actually dead, and she was the one who killed them. There are at least two instances in the film, where the children are exposed to the light - when Grace is searching the spare room for the source of the mysterious voices, and Anne is exposed to the light when her mother opens the door, and at the end, when “the Others” have removed all of the curtains from the house, and the children are exposed to the light, until their mother finds them, and hides them in a dark room. When Grace gives the servants a tour of the house, she tells them that the house must always be shrouded in darkness when the children are present, and no door must be opened, without the previous door being shut tight and locked, so the light is contained, and her children will be protected from death. She tells the servants that the children are severely allergic to the light, and any exposure to light much brighter than a candle flame would result in the children suffocating and being severely burned… but the children are exposed to the light, and this does not happen. As she holds her children close, comforting them after their traumatic experience, Grace tells Anne and Nicholas that she loves them both dearly, and they will always be together, and that the house was theirs. When Grace finds peace with death, she and her children are able to step into the light together, without being burned.
The Others is a metaphor for grief, and this is shown in Grace’s character as the story unfolds and the truth is brought to light.
One way that Grace chooses to shield herself from the truth is by refusing to acknowledge anything relating to death. When Grace begins witnessing strange occurrences in the house… strange and unexplained noises, voices whispering, and doors being left open, rather than acknowledging these things, she, instead, chooses to deny them by blaming the servants; even calling her daughter a liar for telling her such stories. She tells Mrs. Mills to ignore the strange things her children say, and while initially, Grace dismisses Anne’s claim of the others, chalking it up to her daughter’s overactive imagination, she, herself, begins to see things that cannot be explained. The fog would not allow Grace to go and find a priest to bless the house, because her soul was tied to the house. The fog would not allow Grace to leave, but it gave her the one thing she desperately wanted – her beloved husband - so she would return to the house. Grace’s conversation with her husband is the first step towards Grace finally acknowledging the truth and making peace with death. When her daughter tells Grace about the strangers in the house and shows her a drawing of them, she initially does everything in her power to silence her daughter’s “strange ideas.” She accuses her daughter of lying about her claims, and even punishes Anne by making her recite Scriptures, and then, she gets angry when Anne insists that she is telling the truth about the intruders. Grace soon finds herself confronted with the truth when her husband tells her that their daughter told him the truth about what happened, and now, he’s come to say goodbye to Grace and the children before going off to the front. Grace finds a moment of vulnerability when she confides to her husband how lonely and isolated and depressed she has been since he went off to war and she has been imprisoned in the darkness of this house, alone with her children, and trapped by the fog and the light… and how she finally ended their suffering. The morning after her husband says goodbye to Grace is the moment when Grace is confronted with the truth. When she goes outside to look for her husband, he is gone. Grace hears her children screaming and realizes, to her horror, that her worst nightmare has come true. All the curtains have been removed from the house and she and her children are exposed to the light. This marks Grace’s final attempt to protect herself. She forces the servants to leave the house when they do not see a problem with the curtains having vanished and the children being exposed to the light. Indeed, they tell her that perhaps the children have stayed so long in the darkness that their affliction has been healed, and the light no longer burns them… a theory which is proven by the children never being burned by the light, even when they had prolonged exposure to the light. They screamed in fear, when the woke up and saw the light, because this is what their mother has taught them to fear… but they were both unharmed by the light. When she is searching the house for the intruders, Grace finds a photograph album… but rather than being snapshots of people who are alive, this book holds photographs of the deceased. Mrs. Mills tells Grace that some people believe that the dead are photographed, so that their souls can live on through the portraits. Grace is horrified by this macabre book, and she orders Mrs. Mills to get rid of it immediately, because she doesn’t want it in her house. Grace finds such a photo of the three servants, posed together, with their eyes closed in death, and they are living on in the house with Grace and her children. They have lived in that house for half a century. That is why, as the story unfolds, we don’t see anyone else, apart from the servants and her husband. They are all dead, and their souls are forever bound to that house. That is why Mrs. Mills told Mr. Tuttle to conceal the gravestones…she knew Grace wasn’t ready yet, to accept the truth. Grace finally acknowledging and accepting the truth of her family’s tragic demise comes when she and the children are in the room where they died, and they hear the Old Woman asking them what transpired here on that day, and we see Anne telling her the truth, and Grace finally accepting that truth, that she and her children are dead. It is only in this moment, when Grace finally makes peace with death, that she and her children are able to step out of the darkness, and into the light, without being harmed.
The Others is a hauntingly beautiful film that perfectly illustrates the strength of a mother’s love for her children. The story is brilliantly told, chillingly suspenseful and made all the more frightening by the fact that the entity that is tormenting this family - that of Death – is one that the audience cannot see. The casting for this film is flawless, particularly for Nicole Kidman who shines in the role of Grace; her strong mother-heart and desire to protect her children from death balanced perfectly with her own battle with overcoming grief. If you enjoy a good, suspenseful horror film, The Others is one that I would highly recommend.
© 2025 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved
Director: Alejandro Amenabar
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Alakina Mann, James Bentley, Fionnula Flanagan, Christopher Eccleston, Eric Sykes, Elaine Cassidy, Renee Asherson, Keith Allen, Michelle Fairley, Alexander Vince, Ricardo Lopez, Aldo Grilo, Gordon Reid
Grace (Nicole Kidman), the devoutly religious mother of Anne (Alakina Mann) and Nicholas (James Bentley), moves her family to the English countryside following World War II. She awaits word on her missing husband, Charles, while protecting her children from a rare photosensitivity that causes them to burn in sunlight. When Grace’s daughter, Anne, claims she sees ghosts, her mother initially thinks the new servants are playing tricks, but chilling events and visions make Grace believe that something supernatural has occurred, and she must protect her children from this unseen entity, as well as the light.
The light plays an intriguing role in the film in symbolizing how Grace fights to protect herself and her young children from literally going towards the bright light of death.
They say there is a moment, just before death, when the dying person sees a bright light… hence the adage “don’t go towards the light if you don’t want to die” They are drawn to the light, like a moth to a flame, and in that moment, they experience perfect joy, as they are reunited with their loved ones and experience a feeling of perfect bliss. By keeping her house shrouded in eternal darkness, and not allowing any sunlight to come in, Grace is protecting her children from the light, not because the children are allergic to the light, but because acknowledging the light and allowing it to penetrate through the darkness that has enshrouded their home, would mean Grace acknowledging the truth… that she and her children, Anne and Nicholas, are actually dead, and she was the one who killed them. There are at least two instances in the film, where the children are exposed to the light - when Grace is searching the spare room for the source of the mysterious voices, and Anne is exposed to the light when her mother opens the door, and at the end, when “the Others” have removed all of the curtains from the house, and the children are exposed to the light, until their mother finds them, and hides them in a dark room. When Grace gives the servants a tour of the house, she tells them that the house must always be shrouded in darkness when the children are present, and no door must be opened, without the previous door being shut tight and locked, so the light is contained, and her children will be protected from death. She tells the servants that the children are severely allergic to the light, and any exposure to light much brighter than a candle flame would result in the children suffocating and being severely burned… but the children are exposed to the light, and this does not happen. As she holds her children close, comforting them after their traumatic experience, Grace tells Anne and Nicholas that she loves them both dearly, and they will always be together, and that the house was theirs. When Grace finds peace with death, she and her children are able to step into the light together, without being burned.
The Others is a metaphor for grief, and this is shown in Grace’s character as the story unfolds and the truth is brought to light.
One way that Grace chooses to shield herself from the truth is by refusing to acknowledge anything relating to death. When Grace begins witnessing strange occurrences in the house… strange and unexplained noises, voices whispering, and doors being left open, rather than acknowledging these things, she, instead, chooses to deny them by blaming the servants; even calling her daughter a liar for telling her such stories. She tells Mrs. Mills to ignore the strange things her children say, and while initially, Grace dismisses Anne’s claim of the others, chalking it up to her daughter’s overactive imagination, she, herself, begins to see things that cannot be explained. The fog would not allow Grace to go and find a priest to bless the house, because her soul was tied to the house. The fog would not allow Grace to leave, but it gave her the one thing she desperately wanted – her beloved husband - so she would return to the house. Grace’s conversation with her husband is the first step towards Grace finally acknowledging the truth and making peace with death. When her daughter tells Grace about the strangers in the house and shows her a drawing of them, she initially does everything in her power to silence her daughter’s “strange ideas.” She accuses her daughter of lying about her claims, and even punishes Anne by making her recite Scriptures, and then, she gets angry when Anne insists that she is telling the truth about the intruders. Grace soon finds herself confronted with the truth when her husband tells her that their daughter told him the truth about what happened, and now, he’s come to say goodbye to Grace and the children before going off to the front. Grace finds a moment of vulnerability when she confides to her husband how lonely and isolated and depressed she has been since he went off to war and she has been imprisoned in the darkness of this house, alone with her children, and trapped by the fog and the light… and how she finally ended their suffering. The morning after her husband says goodbye to Grace is the moment when Grace is confronted with the truth. When she goes outside to look for her husband, he is gone. Grace hears her children screaming and realizes, to her horror, that her worst nightmare has come true. All the curtains have been removed from the house and she and her children are exposed to the light. This marks Grace’s final attempt to protect herself. She forces the servants to leave the house when they do not see a problem with the curtains having vanished and the children being exposed to the light. Indeed, they tell her that perhaps the children have stayed so long in the darkness that their affliction has been healed, and the light no longer burns them… a theory which is proven by the children never being burned by the light, even when they had prolonged exposure to the light. They screamed in fear, when the woke up and saw the light, because this is what their mother has taught them to fear… but they were both unharmed by the light. When she is searching the house for the intruders, Grace finds a photograph album… but rather than being snapshots of people who are alive, this book holds photographs of the deceased. Mrs. Mills tells Grace that some people believe that the dead are photographed, so that their souls can live on through the portraits. Grace is horrified by this macabre book, and she orders Mrs. Mills to get rid of it immediately, because she doesn’t want it in her house. Grace finds such a photo of the three servants, posed together, with their eyes closed in death, and they are living on in the house with Grace and her children. They have lived in that house for half a century. That is why, as the story unfolds, we don’t see anyone else, apart from the servants and her husband. They are all dead, and their souls are forever bound to that house. That is why Mrs. Mills told Mr. Tuttle to conceal the gravestones…she knew Grace wasn’t ready yet, to accept the truth. Grace finally acknowledging and accepting the truth of her family’s tragic demise comes when she and the children are in the room where they died, and they hear the Old Woman asking them what transpired here on that day, and we see Anne telling her the truth, and Grace finally accepting that truth, that she and her children are dead. It is only in this moment, when Grace finally makes peace with death, that she and her children are able to step out of the darkness, and into the light, without being harmed.
The Others is a hauntingly beautiful film that perfectly illustrates the strength of a mother’s love for her children. The story is brilliantly told, chillingly suspenseful and made all the more frightening by the fact that the entity that is tormenting this family - that of Death – is one that the audience cannot see. The casting for this film is flawless, particularly for Nicole Kidman who shines in the role of Grace; her strong mother-heart and desire to protect her children from death balanced perfectly with her own battle with overcoming grief. If you enjoy a good, suspenseful horror film, The Others is one that I would highly recommend.
© 2025 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved