LITERAL REMAINS

The Other is another of those films that I stumbled upon while channel surfing.  It’s one more of those films that if I land on a channel and it’s playing, I have to stop and watch it.  A great movie does that to a person.

Set in the countryside of 1935 Connecticut, the story centers on 10 year-old twins Niles and Holland Perry.  They pass their summer days playing on the family farm.  It is all normal, at least on the surface.  The closer we delve into life on the farm, the more we learn some peculiar, even disturbing facts.

Niles is the good twin; Holland is mischievous, and often gets them into trouble.  The twins themselves have secrets, especially pertaining to one Prince Albert tobacco can; inside it is are items that Niles wants to give back to someone, or to dispose of entirely.  Holland tells him that it’s his, “I gave them to you, they’re yours now.”

The twins’ mother is a recluse.  She is in grieving, having yet to overcome the loss of her husband, the twins’ father.  Their grandmother, Ada, favors Niles, even teaching him the mental ability to project his mind outside himself, sending him at one point on a flight with a bird, enabling him to see the countryside.

It’s during this particular summer that a series of accidents may be more than that, they may be purposeful harm.  See, Holland likes practical jokes…even if they are deadly.

The Other is based on the acclaimed novel by Tom Tryon, who also adapted the script for the movie.  It was expertly directed by the great Robert Mulligan, director of To Kill a Mockingbird and Same Time, Next Year.  It’s the perfect appearances that mask the unknown that draw us in, and once the appearances are ripped away, we are left with shock and horror.

The late John Ritter stars as the twins’ brother-in-law; this was one of his first films.  The twins are played by Chris and Martin Udvarnoky, and are suited to their roles, sweetly and devilishly.

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