“Old” (2021) / Z-View

Old (2021)

Director:  M. Night Shyamalan

Screenplay:  M. Night Shyamalan based on the graphic novel Sandcastle by Pierre Oscar Levy and Frederik Peeters

Starring:  Gael García Bernal, Vicky Krieps, Rufus Sewell, Ken Leung, Aaron Pierre and M. Night Shyamalan

Tagline: It’s only a matter of time.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Guy and Prisca Cappa along with their young children, Maddox and Trenton arrive at a luxurious remote island resort.  The next morning the resort manager invites the Capra family to join a select few on a trip to a secluded part of the beach off limits to the general population.  Joining them are Charles, his young wife, their daughter along with Charles’ elderly mother and  another married couple, Jarin and Patricia Carmichael.

The secluded area is surrounded by high rock formations. They are driven to a path that will take them to the beach.  Once on the beach they are surprised that a famous rapper, “Mid-Size Sedan”, is there.  They are shocked to see his girlfriend lying dead in the sand!  There is no cell service so the group is unable to contact the resort. Anyone trying to walk back to the road suffers painful headaches and loses consciousness.  As the group argues about what to do, they notice that the children are suddenly looking much older.  Somehow the beach is aging everyone one year for every thirty minutes!

As the group struggles with the reality of their situation one of them begins to have psychotic episodes endangering everyone.  Will they figure a way off the beach?  Will anyone survive?  Only time will tell.

Old works because of M. Knight Shyamalan’s talents behind the camera.  The story is interesting, but would probably have worked better as a thirty minute episode of The Twilight Zone.  My nit to pick with Old is that it becomes redundant, and although the characters’ bodies age, they should remain at their original age mentally.  This makes some of what happens gross (and I’m not talking about the brittle bones lady).  I do give credit for the explanation of how the characters were chosen for the secluded beach.

Old isn’t a great film or one of M. Night Shyamalan’s best but still rates 3 of 5 stars.