SPOILERS FOLLOW!
This is an excellent thriller. It has good acting, great directing, excellent writing, and, most importantly, the element present in all three, and tragically missing from far too many thrillers today... subtlety. Suspense increases very slowly. It doesn't REALLY become apparent that something's amiss until Carol Van Sant begins wandering around at the barbecue repeating, "I'll just DIE if I don't get this recipe."
Best about the movie is this: The utter perfection of the women of Stepford is, through most of the film, not portrayed in a threatening or malicious manner. In fact, I find their dazed conversations about cleaning to be quite amusing. There is no unified cry of "Join us! Join us!" usually typical of films like this. But the danger is evident nonetheless. And the suspense continues to build, until we get to the scene wherein Joanna stabs the Stepford Bobbie, who then begins to malfunction... one of the scariest things I've seen in a very long time.
And finally we get to the closing scene. The way the scene will play out is evident from the first (we are, of course, going to see the new Stepford Joanna). But it's extremely well executed. Just watching the Stepford Wives walk up and down the supermarket aisles sent shivers up my spine. Not to mention a brief glimpse of the latest resident of Stepford, as yet unaware of the fate that awaits her. Absolutely incredible.
One problem: In a film that otherwise has incredible pacing in the building of suspense, the music, especially at the beginning, blares unearthly notes during some of the most subtle scenes, as if to proclaim, "HEY! THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG, HERE!" It's not TOO imposing, though. And aside from that, the movie is nearly flawless.
This is an excellent thriller. It has good acting, great directing, excellent writing, and, most importantly, the element present in all three, and tragically missing from far too many thrillers today... subtlety. Suspense increases very slowly. It doesn't REALLY become apparent that something's amiss until Carol Van Sant begins wandering around at the barbecue repeating, "I'll just DIE if I don't get this recipe."
Best about the movie is this: The utter perfection of the women of Stepford is, through most of the film, not portrayed in a threatening or malicious manner. In fact, I find their dazed conversations about cleaning to be quite amusing. There is no unified cry of "Join us! Join us!" usually typical of films like this. But the danger is evident nonetheless. And the suspense continues to build, until we get to the scene wherein Joanna stabs the Stepford Bobbie, who then begins to malfunction... one of the scariest things I've seen in a very long time.
And finally we get to the closing scene. The way the scene will play out is evident from the first (we are, of course, going to see the new Stepford Joanna). But it's extremely well executed. Just watching the Stepford Wives walk up and down the supermarket aisles sent shivers up my spine. Not to mention a brief glimpse of the latest resident of Stepford, as yet unaware of the fate that awaits her. Absolutely incredible.
One problem: In a film that otherwise has incredible pacing in the building of suspense, the music, especially at the beginning, blares unearthly notes during some of the most subtle scenes, as if to proclaim, "HEY! THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG, HERE!" It's not TOO imposing, though. And aside from that, the movie is nearly flawless.