'Old' Film Review

“Old” is the latest thriller from writer/director M. Night Shyamalan and follows three separate families who find themselves aging rapidly and uncontrollably on a mysterious beach.

Shyamalan had been on a streak of good films since having a comeback from a string of not-so-good films. The first film where he had a comeback to his thriller roots was 2015’s “The Visit.”

Since then, he has made “Split” (2016) and “Glass” (2019), both of which received moderate critical acclaim and substantial box office numbers. The expectations for his latest film, “Old,” were to follow suit.

However, that is not entirely the case.

The main idea for “Old” is very unique, something that Shyamalan is best known for and good at, and many wondered how he was going to pull it off.

While he gave an explanation, it didn’t help much as it was quick and summed up using a metaphor. Just enough for an audience to sort of understand and then have their attention be put on something else so they can’t think about it for too long.

Several things are very odd as the viewer is watching the film. Many things happen that are unexplained, yet the film keeps on moving at a rapid pace so you don’t have time to think about what’s going on.

However, to make up for this, Shyamalan has given each character unique traits -- such as a doctor with schizophrenia and a woman with a calcium deficiency -- that eventually tie into the thriller aspects.

Without spoiling anything, the calcium deficiency is not going to fare well for a woman aging rapidly on a beach, and it is not going to help an already confused doctor who is trying to help the people around him.

These aspects combined with the rapid pace create some of Shyamalan’s best tension in years. The audience feels themselves tightening up as there is no room to breathe for multiple minutes at a time.

Where a large part of the film falters, however, is the dialogue in the script. It is very basic and very corny at times, causing some of the actors to give poor performances.

One line in the film reads “I think we’re on a beach that causes our bodies to age rapidly.” It could not have been more obvious and made the characters seem dumb.

However, later they would come up with very scientific observations after having no background that indicates they would be smart enough to come up with what they are saying.

It’s clear Shyamalan just needed his characters to say this in order to give an explanation to the audience.

By the time the film was about to end, it became time for Shyamalan’s signature twist or, at least, grand explanation of everything that has happened.

The reveal was actually very neat and creative. Unethical, but you could see why what was happening was done to these characters. It might have even made up for a lot of the issues had with the film.

Although, it again happens too quickly and is said in very few lines, so the audience doesn’t have much time to think about it because Shyamalan is, for some reason, in a rush to end his film.

Had there been a long monologue or some more backstory, it would have been resolved better and perhaps given more clarity to the events the audience just witnessed.

Overall, “Old” is a mixed bag but still worth a trip to the theater for its tense sequences and unique premise. Although, it is not a film worth revisiting for some time when it is over.