(Hmmmmm…. Cheap rent vs. Ghosts… tough call….)
CAST: Jennifer Connelly, Ariel Gade, Tim Roth, John C. Reilly, Dougray Scott, Camryn Manheim.
DIRECTOR: Walter Salles
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and some really messed-up apartment blocks - straight ahead…
IT’S LIKE THIS: Dahlia Williams (Jennifer Connelly) divorces her cheating scumbag husband Kyle (Dougray Scott), and tries to find a reasonably-priced apartment for her and her daughter Cece (Ariel Gade) in Manhattan. Which is kind of like trying to find a virgin on Hollywood boulevard at midnight. In short, not the most fruitful search. Soon, however, she hears about a building on nearby Roosevelt Island which is only a tram ride away from Manhattan, but is supposed to have really cheap rental fees. Unfortunately, the apartment that Dahlia and Cece move into has a ceiling leak. That spreads. And spreads. And spreads. And it’s coming from the apartment above. Then other scary things start to happen in the building. Soon, Dahlia is making like Nancy Drew (always a bad idea) and starts digging into the identity of who the ghost might be. I don’t have to tell you that trouble ensues…
THE DUDE (OR DUDETTE) MOST LIKELY TO SAVE THE DAY: It’s all Dahlia, folks. This woman needs to get the “Mom of the Year” award. Hell, make that “Mom of The Millenium”.
EYE CANDY MOST LIKELY TO FIRE UP A WOODY: Jennifer Connelly. Jennifer Connelly. Jennifer Connelly. And, maybe, Dougray Scott.
MOST INTENTIONALLY SCARY SCENE: Dahlia’s visit to the mysterious apartment right above theirs. What she finds there will make you check - and recheck and recheck - that you haven’t left your faucets on before leaving your place.
MOST UNINTENTIONALLY SCARY SCENE: Any scene with the leasing agent Mr. Murray (John C. Reilly) in it. If you encounter someone like this in real life, it can only mean he’s about to unleash the B.O.H.I.C.A. treatment on you. As in “Bend Over Here It Comes Again.” In other words: run - and find an apartment elsewhere.
HOTTEST SCENE: Anytime Jennifer Connelly is onscreen. She could be picking her teeth with a playing card and still look elegant and gorgeous.
INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW: What is the source of the leak in Dahlia and Cece’s ceiling? Is it related to the strange sights and sounds that Dahlia has been noticing on her floor? Who lives in the apartment above Dahlia and Cece? And where are they? What does the case of a missing neighborhood girl have to do with the water leak? And what happens when Cece starts talking to an imaginary friend? Is it really a friend - or foe? How far will Dahlia go to protect Cece from the ghostly forces in the apartment building? And the most important question of all: why would someone cheat on a chick who looks like Jennifer Connelly? Stupid, stupid fucker…
WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH “DARK WATER”: If you like intelligent, thoughtful dramas with supernatural overtones. If you like films with carefully sketched characterizations and emotionally-resonant themes about family, sacrifice, and courage - while also being downright eerie and unsettling thrillers. And if you’re in love with Jennifer Connelly.
WHY YOU MAY NOT ENJOY “DARK WATER”: If you have the attention span of a grub worm. Then you’re better off watching SAW.
FINAL ANALYSIS: More of a dark drama with supernatural themes than an outright horror film, DARK WATER is a terrific remake of the Japanese hit HONOGURAI MIZU NO SOKO KARA, which translates to “dark water.” DARK WATER does the Japanese original one better by digging into the lead character’s psyche and laying it bare for us to see. On one level, this movie is about a woman’s journey to the dark side and finding redemption through sacrifice. Not to give too much away, but Dahlia basically is such a great mother that she would give her life for her daughter. It’s this theme that gives the movie a greater emotional resonance than the original, which didn’t let us feel the heroine’s torment as vividly.
Much of DARK WATER’s success as a film can be attributed to three main things: (1) Jennifer Connelly, who is absolutely riveting as Dahlia, and gives the character a whole range of spaces to inhabit: sadness, desperation, determination, occasional joy, and selflessness; (2) Ariel Gade, who turns Cece into a believable movie daughter, making us buy completely into her relationship with Dahlia - which is crucial to DARK WATER since it’s the core of the film; and (3) director Walter Salles confident handling of the material, which combines thoughtful attention to the characters, as well as to the atmospheric mystery that drives the plot.
The supporting cast is also good, but in the end, this film belongs to Jennifer Connelly and Ariel Gade, whose characters’ mother-daughter bond (and the ultimate sacrifice made for it) is what makes DARK WATER linger in the memory long after the end credits have rolled.
On this Mother's Day, I dedicate this review to the Moms of the world - and the sacrifices they make every day for their kids and families...
Thanks, Mom, for everything...
