|
After the apparent suicide of Alison (Amy Irving), husband David (Robert De Niro) and daughter
Emily (Dakota Fanning) try to pick up the pieces of their broken lives and escape to the serenity of countryside New York. David, a psychologist, feels the move will help
them recover. Emily is especially devastated, but the father and daughter relocate despite the strong objections of Emily's doctor Katherine (Famke Janssen). They move into a
vast, empty mansion with secret rooms and hideouts. But the change in surroundings doesn't help young Emily. In fact, it damages her even more. Her dad tries to help
by introducing Emily to a local girl her age. And while David and the friend's aunt (Elisabeth Shue) get along well, Emily shows no interest in making friends. The only friend
Emily desires is that of her seemingly imaginary friend named Charlie. Initially, she says, they play innocent games of hide and seek together until later, these same games take a
horrible turn for the worse. Who is Charlie? Is he really imaginary or for real?
Hide and Seek successfully surprises with a certain level of intensity and grip. The film keeps its audience guessing and quite involved up to the end. Although the last part could be a disappointment in a sense that it loses its thrill, still, the movie should be credited for making its audience think. Hide and Seek boasts of brilliant thespians as casts who deliver their part with sincerity and a degree of eeriness. Dakota Fanning provides most of the tension and thrills in the movie and she perfectly essays the role of a damaged child. Robert De Niro for his part is not so bad although perhaps he could do better if not for the shallow characterization provided by the script. Still,
Hide and Seek is able to scare its audience and it matters a lot for its genre. The imaginative visuals and intelligent twists make the audience hide and seek for more.
What happens when a family is devastated? This is what the movie tells its audience. The
main player, Emily, is an epitome of a bothered child who simply could not cope with a trauma brought about by her own family. The home is supposedly the safest place for a
child to be in but when the home turns into a place of horror, it leaves permanent damage to a child's psyche. Parents are especially responsible in nurturing a child so they
should put extra premium in their relationship as a family more than anything else. The root of the problem in the movie's story can be traced into a simply mishandled
desire. It results in a real great chaos that is more difficult to handle. Amidst some gory visuals and eerie moments in the movie, goodness of one's heart still prevails in the
end and this is what's important in a horror flick like this. The killer may have its time but soon, he will have his day maybe not in the people's court but the higher court
where no one can escape. And in the end, no matter what happens in one's life, hope still springs eternal and everyone must be given the chance to move on.
(Date Reviewed: 8 April 2005)
|
