Dark Water Movie Review:


Home is where the heart is, and there’s no place like home. But what happens when the place that should be the safest one of all turns on you? “Dark Water,” a psychological thriller starring Jennifer Connelly, offers a chilling depiction of this terrifying situation.

“I have always been affected by horror stories and am a little afraid of them,” admits Oscar winner Connelly (for “A Beautiful Mind”). “But this story, being about a woman trying to make a new life for herself and her daughter in the middle of some very strange circumstances, was really moving to me. I was fascinated by the combination of a story that could be so frightening and yet so emotionally provocative at the same time.”

Connelly’s haunting performance as a woman engulfed in an aura of desperation makes it impossible not to empathize with the character she portrays. She’s Dahlia Williams, a young mother recently separated from her husband (Dougray Scott). Determined to move on, Dahlia finds a new job and a dilapidated new apartment on New York City’s Roosevelt Island. Soon, because of an intense custody battle over her little girl as well as mysterious happenings in the new residence, Dahlia’s sanity is put to the test – but she will stop at nothing to save Ceci (Ariel Gade, a darling newcomer) and to discover what’s really going on.

In “Dark Water,” atmosphere, atmosphere, atmosphere rivals location, location, location for attention. Combining constant rain outdoors with indoor water problems including a nasty leaky ceiling and a flooded upstairs apartment, the movie evokes a sense of unease that soon morphs into one of deep despair. Who doesn’t get the blues when it rains? And the downpour here never stops.

Dreary Roosevelt Island comes across as the perfect place to film screenwriter Rafael Yglesia’s fear-driven adaptation of Hideo Nakata’s popular Japanese horror flick. Watching Dahlia and Ceci take their first tram trip across the murky East River to the Island, we suspect they’re in for some bad patches ahead. When we see the huge run-down apartment buildings at their destination point, we’re sure of it.

Director Walter Salles (“The Motorcycle Diaries”) claims that his interest in film noir began at an early age, mostly because these movies “allowed one to see the dysfunction of society through its cracks.” Although this is his first such film, he creates just the right disturbing mood and eerie feeling for scenes in the sinister waterlogged apartment.

“He (Salles) has an elegant way of coming at the terror of the story,” Connelly explains. Salles, with the assistance of cinematographer Affonso Beatto (“The Fighting Temptations”), also gives the movie a unique artistic look and, as Connelly concludes, “a lot of style, grace and mystery.”

Much of the mystery here involves whether or not certain things, including the appearance of a ghost and Ceci’s imaginary friend, are hallucinations or very real indeed. Dahlia still suffers from nightmares about her own abandonment as a child and takes medication for migraines, so she might be having a nervous breakdown. And the way her problems are neglected by her estranged husband, her surface-caring landlord (John C. Reilly in another terrific performance), the grumpy handy-man (Pete Postlethwaite) and sometimes even by her own lawyer (Tim Roth) could be pushing Dahlia over the edge. Her only true friendly new acquaintance is Ceci’s concerned teacher (Camryn Manheim).

Despite an unsatisfactory ending, “Dark Water” emerges as a must-see for viewers who enjoyed such memorable ghost stories as “The Sixth Sense,” “The Shining” and “The Others.” It’s also a tribute to how far a mother will go to protect her child. I rank this involving film as one of the best of the year.



Betty Jo Tucker

Salles and Yglesias faithfully relocate Hideo Nakata's moody 2002 Japanese fright-flick to a rain-soaked New York City. The strong cast, intriguing visuals and subtle scripting keep things introspective and unsettling, until Hollywood takes over with an unnecessarily big climax that feels awkwardly tacked-on.

Dahlia (Connolly) is trying to start her life over with young daughter Ceci (Gade). In the midst of a custody battle with her unfaithful ex-husband (Scott), she rents a rather run-down flat on New York's Roosevelt Island, then has to badger the agent (Reilly) and super (Postlethwaite) to fix a leaky pipe in the ceiling. But the water that drips through isn't clear, and the ghost of a missing little girl (Haney-Jardine) seems to have something to do with it.

The film is at its best when focusing on Dahlia's internal struggles, and Connolly is, of course, superb as a woman second-guessing herself on every level. As her circumstances slowly shift from mildly annoying to increasingly sinister to downright outrageous, Connolly effectively portrays a woman tenaciously holding onto her sanity while reality begins to disappear. The surrounding cast don't have nearly as much to do--they're one-note characters who exist mainly to torment her! So it's good news that they're all solid actors who add edges of subtext.

Alas, Salles' directorial artistry drowns in the standard Hollywood movie machine. Besides the strikingly bleached cinematography and a sense of continual dampness, the direction is efficient but anonymous. You can see him going for a more interesting examination of a woman trying desperately to succeed on her own, against mind-boggling odds. But by the end, the requirements of the genre beat him into submission. This is a pity, because he builds such a chilling tone, full of red herrings and hints of serious threats that are real, imagined and supernatural. So when it all boils over into a flood of horror, it feels completely overwrought, and the much more subtle drama is submerged in the commotion. Sure, this will give horror fans a bit more satisfaction. But is it too much to ask for an intelligent creep-out?

Rich Cline

Going through a traumatic divorce, Dahlia Williams (Connelly) moves into an apartment block on Roosevelt Island with her daughter Ceci (Gade). As she fights for sole custody with her husband (Scott), things start going from bad to worse. Damp patches start appearing on her bedroom ceiling, footsteps and other noises start coming from the apartment above, Ceci starts talking to an imaginary friend and she can’t get any sleep with having nightmares.

As originality continues to drain away in Hollywood, the passion of Asian horror remakes continues with 'Dark Water' but this re-imagining forgets to include the main element that made the Japanese original so memorable, the scares.

Hideo Nakata's 2002 Japanese ghost story was filled with some genuinely frightening moments that would literally send shivers down your spine. Like 'Ringu', 'The Eye' and 'The Grudge' had done, this was a movie that had you jumping out of your skin as the films relied on quick frights and fast cuts to really get your blood racing. The Hollywood remakes, 'The Ring' and 'The Grudge' has also done this successfully but this version of 'Dark Water' is very different.

Acclaimed director Walter Salles and his creative team have decided to filter out most of the ghost story elements and thus the scares and replace them with more psychological, family based drama elements that make the film slightly confusing. He has keep most of the other elements, the divorcing family, the dilapidated apartment block, the mystery of the missing girl and certain elements of the haunting such as the damp patches, the flooded apartment and the black water but without the scares the movie loses its purpose and ends up feeling empty. Now you end up thinking is this all in Dahlia and Ceci's minds, as the trauma of divorce, separation and the past become too much in this isolated apartment building or is Natasha actually real and controlling their fate to get what she so desperately needs, love. Everything becomes far too bleared and the narrative and direction of the film becomes completely lost.

The performances however are what save this from becoming anything but average. Jennifer Connelly's career has gone from strength to strength since appearing in 'Requiem for a Dream' in 2000. She is no longer considered just an extremely pretty face but a talented, Oscar winning actress that has a gift for drama. 'Dark Water' does nothing but strengthen this view, as she is the traumatic heartbeat of this movie. As Dahlia becomes more and more paranoid about the situation and the revelation about her childhood come to light, Connelly's performance becomes totally mesmerising, bringing real depth to the character. Child actress Ariel Grade is also exceptionally good as Ceci. This is a key role in the movie as she goes through just as much trauma as her mother, when her pretend friend becomes more and more assertive. There is also a top-notch supporting cast of Dougray Scott, as the cheating, uncooperative husband, Pete Postlewaite as a lazy, uncaring caretaker, Tim Roth as a lawyer living out of his car and John C. Reilly as a sleazy landlord.

If the original 'Dark Water' didn't exist then this movie would be a good psychological drama with a supernatural twist but as it was, comparisons are bound to be made. The film's big mistake is getting rid of the scares that served the original so well. You have to applaud the performances and the look of the film, as they really do capture the bleakness of the location and the feeling that the characters are going through but with the ghost story elements, the movie is missing its spirit.

Jamie Kelwick

Site Contents Copyright© The Z Review, unless used with permission.This site has no intention to infringe on the rights of the film owners of Dark Water and intellectual copyright holders of the movies mentioned herein & hold copyright over the movie, characters, merchandise & storyline.