Monday, September 8, 2008

Shutter


If A picture is worth a thousand words, then a photographer is a virtual library. Especially when that photographer is hiding a secret. A secret that will betray him in his images. The whole Asian Horror Film concept has taken off in the United States. Some are better than others. Many people are burned out on the genre. I did not see the American remake of Shutter having previously seen the original. I cannot compare the two, but would recommend the original on it's own merit. The concept we find at work in Shutter is an interesting one. Be sure your sins will find you out...the lesson that is learned in this film. Following a celebration during which he took several photographs, Tun's girlfriend Jane hits a girl on the highway. After stopping to see what happened, Tun tells her to continue driving. The following days are filled with disaster as ghostly images appear in photographs and Tun's friends begin killing themselves one by one. Tun has a secret. Jane does not realize that there is more to the story until she starts investigating the images in the photographs. What unravels from their is a story of vengeance, undying love and penance. It is refreshing to talk about acting when you don't know any of the actors. This movie is sub-titled so you are required to read while evaluating the acting. There may also be cultural nuance that comes into play. Having said that, the acting was actually very good. The characters experience a wide range of emotions, but primarily fear. Tun (played by Ananda Everingham) does a great job of holding his cards close to his chest. The character he plays is complicated and he delivers a believable performance giving us a little bit at a time. His girlfriend Jane (played by Natthaweeranuch Thongmee) upstages Everingham at times, delivering great suspense without overdoing it. The cast as a whole are a positive aspect of this movie. The writing in this movie was very interesting. Something always gets lost in translation. There were a few glitches in the sub-titles, but they were mostly easy to understand. The plot was easy to follow but very complex. The sub-plots tie nicely together to tell a haunting tale. There are some foreshadowing events, solid dialogue and interesting characters. Some of Tun's friends have a very one-dimensional frat boy type characterization. We never really get to know a lot of the other characters. However, the complexity of the main characters and the overall plot details make up for the lack of development of other characters.


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