Film Reviews - Gothika
It is never a good sign when the first things you have to say
about the film include "It has some massive holes in the plot"
and "well the acting is not exactly great".
This is certainly not the worst film I’ve ever seen but it
certainly wasn’t one of the better ones either.
It is a shame really as the trailers were excellent – it’s just
a shame that all the best parts of the film appear in the
trailer.
The film does have a plot, even though it is filled with holes.
Basically, a female psychiatrist wakes up as a patient in the
asylum for the criminally insane where she works.
She finds that she is being charged with the murder of her
husband, which she has no recollection of committing.
As she attempts to regain her memory and also her freedom she
finds that she is being manipulated by a vengeful spirit.
You’ve got Halle Berry in the lead role as Miranda Grey.
Supporting roles come from Charles Dutton as Dr. Douglas Grey
(Miranda’s husband) and Robert Downey Jr. playing Pete Graham
(another doctor working in the asylum and who takes on Miranda’s
case).
Penelope Cruz plays the role of Chloe, initially Miranda’s case
in the asylum and eventually her friend on the "inside" so to
speak.
So what exactly have we got?
We have a film that moves along at a different pace throughout.
One moment the film is being incredibly slow as we are shown yet
more character development and in another we have supernatural
elements taking over and we’re not sure what is going on.
The problem is that this film truly offers nothing new.
We’ve got elements of The Ring, The Sixth Sense, What Lies
Beneath, and House on the Haunted Hill.
You might think that with elements of some great films we are
onto a winner, but alas what we are actually left with is a
mess.
The end of the film is really bad I’m afraid to say.
The "climax" where the whole story is supposed to come together
and the "true murderer" is revealed is neither a surprise or
really exciting.
The special effects during the climax of the film are also very
poor – it would appear that the budget was spent getting some
household names in the film and not on the effects.
We also see Miranda free at the end of the film; sorry if this
spoils anything for anybody.
So we are expected to believe that a jury believed her story
that a ghost temporarily took over her body and killed her
husband and that she only killed the sheriff because he was a
sexual deviant and "deserved it".
How any jury believed this story we don’t know – but the fact
Miranda is free makes this so.
As I said above this is not the worst film I’ve ever seen and
I’m sure some people might enjoy it.
The "ghost" is relatively scary, especially during a sequence in
Miranda’s cell.
There are also a few moments to make you jump and the whole film
is very dark and has an eerie feeling about it.
However be prepared for some pretty sub-standard acting and a
plot with holes big enough to drive a bus through.
I can only recommend this film if there is nothing else on at
the cinema/to rent at the DVD/Video store.
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