This entry was posted on Sunday, November 25th, 2007 at 5:03 pm and is filed under Action, Horror, M, Movie Reviews, NEW ON VIDEO, Thriller/Mystery. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Director: Frank Darabont
Starring: Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden, Andre Braugher, Toby Jones, William Sadler, Jeffrey DeMunn, Frances Sternhagen, Alexa Davalos, Nathan Gamble,
Frank who? Frank Darabont’s first two directorial efforts (The Shawshank Redemption & The Green Mile) were both nominated for Best Picture, but since his third film, The Majestic, he has been a rare sight indeed. He is back as writer/director of yet another Stephen King work, in The Mist. This impressive film slipped into theatres as quietly as the weather phenomenon it is named for, and will surprise viewers with great characters, played by an experienced cast of back up performers who are really given their chance to shine here. The effects are good enough, but its real strength is its taut and moving story.
Thomas Jayne is David Drayton, a steady and likable commercial artist, living in a summer town in Maine with his wife and son. Following a damaging wind storm, David, his son, Billy (Nathan Gamble), and irritable neighbor, Brent (Andre Braugher) head to the store for supplies. While in the store, a mysterious mist rolls into town, which might have been ominous enough, even if a bloodied townsperson hadn’t staggered in exclaiming that there is something in the mist. It isn’t long before this is confirmed and the group has some hard choices to make. Soon the group is slintering into three different factions, lead by David, whose ideas of what to do don’t jive with Brent (whose character doesn’t really make any sense) and Mrs. Carmody, who is magnificently played by Oscar winner, Marcia Gay Harden. I don’t know what happened to her in The Invisible. I can only guess that she, like I, did not want to be there (if this comment makes no sense to you, read my review of The Invisible and try to keep up in the future, ok? He he). At any rate, the tension is as thick as the mist and the unyielding story builds to an unforgettable ending
The buzz on this one is that this is the best ending since Sixth Sense. I’m not sure about that, but it is damn good. The tension builds on our natural fearof the unknown and the unseen, while the characters are strong, even down to the shorter roles. For fans of the “there’s something out there” kind of suspense films, its worth seeing. This is a very good thriller and may be the surprise hit of the year, but don’t tell anyone how it ends.
