Review of Dark Water (2012) by Manny C — 20 Jun 2011

What is Dark Water? It's an American version of a Japanese horror film from Ringu director Hideo Nakata, with Brazilian filmmaker helming the remake, starring Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly. Set in New York's Roosevelt Island, in for Tokyo, Dark Water has what it advertises: water that creepily drips and leaks and holds dark mysteries. Connelly is Dahlia, a woman and mother still reeling from a tough separation. She and daughter Ceci (Ariel Gade, eerie and effective) go from Manhattan to the East River where rain is quite prevalent. The cheap apartment Dahlia rents from Mr. Murray (John C. Reilly, a far cry from his comedic trademark) has puddles even in the elevator, and includes a strange wet stain on the ceiling.

Screenwriter Rafael Yglesias (Fearless) stays remarkably alert to the nuance and psychological underpinnings that go with the terror. Connelly really acts, digging deep into a woman with major abandonment issues and anger issues. The subtext is rich, recalling Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby. Everyone's got a secret, including Dahlia's lawyer, played with delicious wit by Tim Roth. Salles works the suspense to great effect, and does something more than just generate some scares: he attempt to plumb the violence of the mind. It's spellbinding.