Richard Stoker is dead. He leaves behind a widow Evelyn (Nicole Kidman) and India, a teenage daughter without a father. Complicating matters is that Mother and daughter hardly got along while Richard was alive, and with him gone and no-one able to play the peacekeeper / intermediary role, the relationship only becomes more frosty.
When Charles arrives unannounced it seems that at the very least Evelyn and India have something to keep them at turns interested and amused – and we the audience either confused or apathetic…
Charles is Richard’s long lost brother. A man so estranged that India did not even know of his existence. Nevertheless he is allowed to stay in the spacious country house and do as he pleases, which apparently is wandering about being alternately menacing and welcoming.
The deliberate unease and uncertainty that the oscillating dynamic between the trio is intended to heighten the drama. Instead it ends up drowning the film under a gorgeous and creative tsunami of frustration.
With all this toing and froing it’s little wonder that Park Chan-Wook’s English language debut never actually manages to go anywhere. Sure it has much of his trademark flair and some cool moments that the film frankly doesn’t deserve, with a few beautiful moments and a couple acts of savage violence for good measure. The acting is fine, the production immaculate and the photography and direction excellent, but a threadbare plot that we’ve seen dozens of times simply cannot be overcome. Ultimately while it might be carefully constructed and immaculately designed like an expensive ceramic pot, as a film Stoker proves to be both pretty and empty.
Final Rating – 6.5 / 10. Chan Park-Wook’s first English effort is like Nicole Kidman’s botoxed face. It becomes increasingly difficult to read what emotion we are currently supposed to be feeling.
