Old

A family’s dream vacation turns into a nightmare when they start to age rapidly in M Night Shyamalan’s latest twisty thriller.

“I hope I die before I get old,” sang Roger Daltrey in The Who’s 1965 smash-hit ‘My Generation’. In M Night Shyamalan’s 13th feature, there is precious little time to make that distinction, as a family on a dream vacation inadvertently find themselves stranded on a beach where the passage of time is rapidly accelerated. It’s the latest high-concept thriller from the master of the cinematic bait and switch – a pleasing blend of comedy, horror and action with entertaining and occasionally silly results.

Based on the graphic novel Sandcastle by Pierre Oscar Levy and Frederik Peeters (which Shyamalan was gifted by his daughter) the film follows insurance actuary Guy (Gael Garciá Bernal), his museum curator wife Prisca (Vicky Krieps) and their young children Maddox and Trent as they take a long-overdue holiday from their native Philadelphia to an idyllic resort that Prisca found online. On arrival, Trent forms a friendship with the resort manager’s young nephew, Idlib, who seems to know something strange is going on at Anamika, which has some sort of relationship with a pharmaceutical company Guy recognises.

Nevertheless, the family trundle off for a beach day where they’re joined by doctor Charles (Rufus Sewell), his mother Agnes (Kathleen Chalfant), his model wife Chrystal (Abby Lee) and their young daughter Kara. Another couple from the resort, Patricia (Nikki Amuka-Bird) and Jarin (Ken Leung) turn up, but things take a turn for the worse when a body washes ashore, and suspicion falls on famous rapper Mid-Size Sedan (Aaron Pierre) who was with the woman before she died.

The shocks come thick and fast in the first half of the film, where the characters start to realise something is desperately wrong with their surroundings, causing them to age at a rate of one year every half an hour. It also becomes apparent that several of the guests are suffering from physical or mental ailments, which makes their situation even more dire; Shyamalan has a lot of fun playing with the twisted logic of the beach, and the impact of rapid ageing on the body versus the mind. The cast are clearly having a ball, and special credit should be given to the casting team who found actors of a similar likeness to play the child characters at different ages – it’s pretty uncanny, and all without the use of distracting CGI.

Old is not without its problems though. Shyamalan’s dialogue is at times clunky and exposition-heavy, leaving little for the audience to figure out themselves, while there are several holes in the film’s logic that threaten to unravel the whole experience if you think too hard about it. It’s also disappointing to see the de facto villain of the piece presented with a mental illness; this harmful trope only adds to the stigma suggesting people with mental conditions are a danger to others.

Still, the solid cast sell the fantastical storyline, and there are profound moments amid the surprises. Watching your life literally slip away in front of your eyes, the concept of modern utilitarianism, and coming to terms with losing your parents when you’re still a child, are heavy themes that echo Shyamalan’s greatest hits. He’s still a filmmaker capable of hitting emotional beats.

Another reason to appreciate Old is that Shyamalan always swings for the fences. At a time when so many films feel devoid of personality, as if they have cynically been made to be as bland as possible, he is one of the few directors with a strong sensibility and a passion that shines through in his work. Old might not reach the heights of his Eastrail 177 Trilogy or even the twisted The Visit, but it’s a perfect summer escape that encourages viewers to seize the day – and maybe be liberal with the SPF 50.

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Published 23 Jul 2021

Tags: M Night Shyamalan Vicky Krieps