STOKER: ODD BUT IN A GOOD WAY

My guess is that while some may decipher what is going on in the new DVD release STOKER before the final moments of the film, most will not. And the honest truth is that this can be a good thing. It's rare that a film will offer you moments of sheer unease like this film does, but when it does so this effectively you'll end up with a movie that's unlike any other and quite original.

Mia Wasikowska plays India Stoker, a young woman whose father has just died in a tragic accident. Early on as the film opens to her voice over and scenes from her past, we know that India is nothing if not unusual. It's her birthday and every year she gets the same gift from her father, a new pair of shoes to replace her old ones. But what will happen now?

It's at the funeral that we get a better glimpse of the rest of the family. India's mother Evelyn (Nicole Kidman) is a wife who seems a bit off as well. While playing the distraught widow she seems as if she's walking through life not caring about much. The distance between mother and daughter comes up throughout the film. India was definitely daddy's daughter and mom was just someone who seems to think more about herself than India.

At the funeral India meets her uncle, Charlie (Matthew Goode). Charlie was rarely seen or heard of. In fact India wasn't quite aware that he existed at all. But her mother seems to take well to him and he ends up staying with them in their house to help out. All of this seems to point towards the usual relationship between the widow and the "missing" brother that we've seen in so many films. But those hints are never so certain here as more is going on than we realize.

The first odd thing that happens is when Mrs. McGarrick the housekeeper suddenly disappears. This was a woman who got along fine with India but who was last seen having words with Charlie. As viewers we assume what possibly happened but there is no proof, no scene that displays what happened or could have happened.

Then India's grandmother Gwendolyn (Jacki Weaver) shows. She has some reservations about Charlie but won't share them out loud. When she tries to discuss them with her daughter in law, Evelyn calls her out on the issue of Charlie's staying with Charlie in earshot. Gwendolyn has a fearful look in her eye when she glimpses Charlie and rather than spend the night in the house she heads for a motel. Her fate is one of the few we actually see happen. Or do we?

India continues to feel that something isn't quite right with her uncle Charlie. Nor is she happy with the way her mother seems to be fawning over him. Is it jealousy or is it a touch of caution she feels, a bit of intuition that makes her think that something just isn't quite right.

India also has problems not centered around home. In school she is tormented by the class bully for her unusual appearance and high IQ. Eventually a confrontation ensues between them where she is saved by another classmate. A love interest? Possibly. Then again there is more there than is seen on screen.

The movie is filled with twists and turns leading the viewer down one path and then veering off into another. Is Charlie really India's uncle or is he really a man whose only interest is her mother? Why does Charlie stare at India so intently? What really happened to the people that seem to disappear all around India? The answers to these question and more are answered before the end of the film and answered in such a way as to surprise even the most jaded viewer.

One thing you should know going in is that this film is not normal in any sense of the word. Characters seem like nothing you would find in real life yet they fit well in this story. Performances are not done in a standard method here but seem more like caricatures of characters instead. Speech and body language are done not as we would expect people to behave but instead to move the story forward. This may be in part because of the language difficulties found for director Chan-wook Park in his first time doing an English speaking film. Fans of this director won't be disappointed by what he offers here.

STOKER might not be the movie that most everyone will think of when looking through what is available on the racks or in the Redbox. But if you're willing to step out of your comfort zone, if you're willing to try something new, then this would be the movie to do that with. It also might be enough to get you interested in the other films of Chan-wook Park. While it's far from normal, it is interesting at all turns.

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