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Rating: 2 out of 5
It is starting to be a habit where I watch a substandard movie. Few films are trying to have that Hitchcock feel or be like the twist king M. Night Shyamalan. There is nothing wrong with these two as they work for some film and really get people talking. In Darkness is not one of those films as it tries to be a mysterious film only to fail and be a mediocre thriller.
Directed by Anthony Byrne and written by Byrne and Natalie Dormer, In Darkness is a thriller with a twist and some turns. The movie begins with Sofia McKendrick (Dormer), a blind pianist who lives in an apartment in London. She is constantly haunted by the murder of her family by Serbian paramilitaries. Her upstairs neighbor Veronique (Ratajkowski), is the daughter of Serbian philanthropist Zoran Radic (Bijvoet). Zoran has committed war crimes during the Bosnian War and is currently suspected of running a criminal organization. Sofia and Veronique seem to have a cordial relationship but seem to sense that something is wrong with her. During one of their chance meetings in the elevator, Veronique slips Sofia a USB drive and tells her that the perfume is Liquid Gold. The next night, Sofia overhears Veronique struggling and in a shouting match with someone until she hears Veronique fall to her death. Sofia denies witnessing anything to Detective Mills (Maskell) while discreetly holding the USB drive. During an event hosted by Radic, Sofia overhears that Radic killed his own daughter. As Sofia seems to learn the truth, she is soon targeted by Radic himself until the real truth is revealed.
The movie and story had potential. I was with the film when homegirl got thrown from her window and died. I was like, “Oh, damn,” but then after that, it seemed like one of those standards films where you wonder what the actual deal with Sofia is. Everyone can see that she is blind, and she denied knowing or “seeing” anything. Then the film takes this turn with the assassin actually falling for her. I don’t know, but it just seemed off. The pacing seemed off, and the storyline became dull from this point on. During the funeral of Veronique, Sofia tries to kill Radic by stabbing him in the car. What we finally realize but seemed to know after learning about Radic is that Sofia’s family were once friends with Radic in Bosnia, but Radic betrayed her family and personally lead the paramilitaries in the massacre of Sofia’s family. Seems like everyone has a vendetta in film, and it is starting to get played out.
Now what I thought was decent about this film is the ending. Yea, it’s the same thing you’ve seen before, but for some reason, it caught me by surprise. I wasn’t expecting it because maybe I wasn’t paying too much attention. Yet, it was like this whole Unusual Suspects feel to it when it was revealed that Sofia wasn’t blind and could see everything she was doing. In the beginning, Sofia recounts how while she was blind, she had a sister, Balma, who could see but would pretend to be blind for her sister’s benefit. The movie gave us a flip at the end and showed that Sofia was never blind and her blind sister was the one who was killed while they were hiding. To exact her revenge, Sofia took her sister’s name and identity and faked blindness for years. Dun dun dunnnnnnnnn!!!
Okay, now if you have read anything that has Natalie Dormer, you know that I love her as an actress and think she can hold her own. In this film, she does a decent job. Not her best work, but she was a lot better than anyone else. She needs to find the right movie that would push her. Maybe she needs to appear next to the legendary Meryl Streep because Meryl plays no games when she does acting. That is why she is a queen and g.o.a.t in acting.
In Darkness is one of those films that is okay but ultimately can stay in the Darkness. The storyline is okay but is one that has been seen more times than people can count. It won’t come to you as a surprise if you are paying attention to the movie. Natalie Dormer is decent in the film, but she can definitely do better. Might as well skip this film and watch another movie.
