‘OLD’ RATED PG-13

An existential sense of doom pervades visionary filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan’s latest thriller, which is based on the French graphic novel “Sandcastle” that’s about a group of people vacationing on a secluded beach who discover they are aging rapidly.

The succinctly titled “Old” follows the same premise of its source material, and that’s hardly surprising for anyone who has seen the trailer. It’s not a spoiler to reveal the aging process is so fast as to leave little time for an escape from the beach.

A group of unlucky vacationers at a luxurious tropical resort are invited by the unctuous manager for a day-trip excursion of surf, sun and sand at an off-limits nature preserve that turns into a nightmare.

Gael Garcia Bernal and Vicky Krieps are Guy and Prisca Capa, a married couple on the verge of divorce who bring along their 11-year-old daughter Maddox (Alexa Swinton) and six-year-old son Trent (Nolan River) on what may be a last family trip.

Joining the Capa family on the beach outing is surgeon Charles (Rufus Sewell), his mother Agnes (Kathleen Chalfant), his much younger wife Chrystal (Abbey Lee) and their six-year-old daughter Kara (Kylie Begley).

A rapper who goes by the moniker Mid-Sized Sedan (Aaron Pierre) has mysterious nosebleeds and is already wandering around in a daze. But that’s nothing compared to how Dr. Charles slips rapidly into a disturbing state of paranoia.

The real problem for the vacationers is that a day at the beach turns the young kids into teenagers even before it’s time for a picnic lunch. A dead girl washes ashore and her body quickly decomposes. A psychologist (Nikki Amuka-Bird) faces the threat of epileptic seizures.

“Old” creates an interesting dynamic for the beachgoers trapped in an idyllic place that is anything but relaxing and tranquil. There’s a foreboding feeling of tragedy in that the characters are not in control of their destiny.

More than anything, “Old” ramps up tension and the sense of mortal danger with chilling dread. Shyamalan sums it up in the press notes saying that he “wanted it to feel like you’re watching a two-hour ‘Twilight Zone’ episode.”

Whether Shyamalan delivers an overall suspenseful thriller may be debatable, though on balance the thrills are ominous. Another arguable point is if the twisty ending delivers a suitable conclusion to a supernatural nightmare.

Moviegoers may well argue if the Shyamalan formula of weirdness produces an unsettling effect in “Old.” Go ahead and discuss this amongst yourselves.



‘LEVERAGE: REDEMPTION’ ON IMDB TV

IMDb TV is an ad-supported streaming service owned by Amazon where you can watch TV shows and movies online for free. The service is now in the business of having its own original programming, starting most notably with “Leverage: Redemption.”

Back in 2008, the TNT network launched a five-season run of “Leverage,” a crime drama series that followed a five-person team consisting of a grifter, hacker, hitter, and expert thief led by former insurance investigator Nathan Ford (Timothy Hutton).

In carrying out capers, the team acted like Robin Hood in fighting predatory corporate types and corrupt government officials that had wronged ordinary citizens. Now the team is back, minus Timothy Hutton, but with a new player joining in Noah Wyle’s Harry Wilson.

Returning as the avenging crew is Gina Bellman’s grifter Sophie Devereaux, Beth Riesgraf’s master thief Parker, Christian Kane’s martial artist Eliot Spencer, and Aldis Hodge’s computer hacker Alec Hardison.

As a New Orleans lawyer who served as a corporate fixer, Harry Wilson brings a new perspective to the group of do-gooder con artists in that he’s turned the corner from a career of helping rich and powerful crooks to knowing how to get the upper hand to bring them down.

While Sophie may be the de facto leader replacing the deceased Nathan, Harry represents the emotional core of the mission to help the little guy since he’s the one seeking redemption to atone for years of defending the evildoers.

Apparently, Aldis Hodge’s schedule only permits a limited participation in this reboot, but conveniently Hardison’s foster kid sister Breanna (Aleyse Shannon) takes over as the new master of electronic wizardry.

As with the original series, the motley crew of reformed criminals engages in virtuous scams such that each episode stands on its own for wish fulfillment that justice has been served.

The adventures in the early episodes include an elaborate heist in Panama to thwart an evil billionaire’s plan to flee extradition and upending the dastardly plot of a greedy riverboat casino owner to bulldoze the homes of longtime New Orleans natives for his planned expansion.

A very topical undertaking in “The Tower Job” episode is conning a cost-cutting developer out of an entire high-rise apartment building. As filming must have occurred before the building collapse in Florida, this has the feel of a prescient cautionary tale.

While the justice-for-the-aggrieved concept of “Leverage: Redemption” and its predecessor is hardly unique, the team of con artists with their own set of special skills work so well together to deliver a fun diversion.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

Details

Written by: Tim Riley

Published: 01 August 2021