{"id":2625,"date":"2013-03-01T18:04:47","date_gmt":"2013-03-01T17:04:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/?p=2625"},"modified":"2013-03-01T18:48:19","modified_gmt":"2013-03-01T17:48:19","slug":"stoker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2013\/03\/01\/stoker\/","title":{"rendered":"Stoker"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Stoker<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

\nFormat:<\/B> Cinema

\nRelease date:<\/B> 1 March 2013

\nVenue:<\/B> Key cities

\nDistributor:<\/B> 20th Century Fox

\nDirector:<\/B> Park Chan-wook

\nWriters:<\/B> Wentworth Miller, Erin Cressida Wilson

\nCast:<\/B> Mia Wasikowska, Nicole Kidman, Matthew Goode

\nUSA\/UK 2013

\n98 mins\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Stoker<\/i> marks Korean director Park Chan-wook\u2019s first foray into making a Hollywood feature in English, but he has not strayed too far from his roots. Following on from the themes he explored in his previous movies, Stoker<\/i> is a sexually deviant tale of lust, jealousy and the very unenviable task of coming of age, explored with much of Park\u2019s customary visual style. Closer to last year\u2019s Korean hit The Taste of Money<\/i> or even its prequel, The Housemaid<\/i><\/A> (2010), than anything released in the mainstream, Stoker<\/i> is a gorgeous marriage of style and substance. <\/p>\n

The story revolves around 18-year-old India Stoker (Mia Wasikowska), whose life is turned upside down following the death of her father in a tragic car accident. Left with her emotionally unstable mother (Nichole Kidman), India is further thrown into disarray with the arrival of her Uncle Charlie (Matthew Goode): a man hitherto unknown to her and who might have ulterior motives.<\/p>\n

The performances from the trio of leads is impressive: the dance between Charlie and India is set to a vicious and sexual beat \u2013 Wasikowska and Goode are more than adept at capturing it \u2013 while Kidman brings a sense of disdain and jealousy to her character that Bette Davis would\u2019ve been proud of. Wentworth Miller\u2019s script is an unfolding joy: taking its cue from Hitchcock\u2019s Shadow of a Doubt<\/i> (1943), it explores the story with a sense of sexual deviancy that Hitchcock would surely have approved of, while Park\u2019s use of visual motifs within the film recalls the more abstract images in Vertigo<\/i> (1958). However, the film\u2019s real coup is the use of physical space. It is deliberate in its attempt to disorient the viewer: impossible exits and entrances, sudden shifts within rooms and a lot more bring to mind the architectural deliberations of Mark Z. Danielewski’s novel House of Leaves<\/I>.<\/p>\n

Something must also be said for the incredible supercharged soundtrack by Clint Mansell, to which is added a Philip Glass piece that captures the emotional glass heart of the film perfectly. Emily Wells is the icing on the cake of what might indeed be the best soundtrack of the year, alongside Maniac<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Although the film will have its detractors, it\u2019s hard not to be impressed with what Park has achieved here: a Korean movie in Hollywood clothing, Stoker<\/i> is a one-of-a-kind masterpiece.<\/p>\n

Evrim Ersoy<\/B><\/I><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Park Chan-wook’s first Hollywood film is a sexually deviant tale of lust, jealousy and the very unenviable task of coming of age.
\nReview by Evrim Ersoy<\/B><\/I><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11,1],"tags":[559,586],"class_list":["post-2625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-check-it-out","category-cinema-releases","tag-korean-film","tag-park-chan-wook"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","wps_subtitle":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/surUP-stoker","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6732,"url":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2016\/05\/15\/the-handmaiden\/","url_meta":{"origin":2625,"position":0},"title":"The Handmaiden","author":"Pam Jahn","date":"May 15, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Park Chan-wook's latest film is fuelled with surprises, and they are a pure joy to witness unfold. 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Review by James Merchant","rel":"","context":"In "Cinema releases"","block_context":{"text":"Cinema releases","link":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/category\/cinema-releases\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":768,"url":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2009\/10\/04\/thirst\/","url_meta":{"origin":2625,"position":2},"title":"THIRST","author":"VirginieSelavy","date":"October 4, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Athough Thirst, joint winner of the Jury Prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival, lacks its predecessor's shocking originality, Park's formidable talents still result in a flawed but entertainingly perverse love story, one that's also a thriller, a horror film and a black comedy. Review by Sarah Cronin","rel":"","context":"In "Cinema releases"","block_context":{"text":"Cinema releases","link":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/category\/cinema-releases\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Thirst","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/review_thirst-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1338,"url":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2010\/09\/26\/mother\/","url_meta":{"origin":2625,"position":3},"title":"Mother","author":"VirginieSelavy","date":"September 26, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"An incredibly powerful and complex portrait of maternal love, Mother mixes tragedy and goofiness, a combination fairly common in Asian films, but one at which director Bong Joon-ho is particularly adept. 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