“I don’t wanna play with Charlie
any more!”
There are two points to make
before I begin. One, this film is based around one massive great big revelation
so, y’ know, THERE BE SPOILERS. Two, this is the ninety-third film I’ve
reviewed for this blog but only the first to feature Robert de Niro. How on
Earth did that happen?
De Niro gives an extraordinary
performance in a role which absolutely requires one. Like a certain part in The Usual Suspects which I shan’t spoil
for those of you who haven’t seen it, it requires two performances in one. De
Niro has to convince as David, the well-meaning bereaved father who’s trying to
do the right thing, and as Charlie. The film structures itself around the
revelation well; I, for one, didn’t guess, and was shocked. I have my doubts
about basing a film so thoroughly around one big twist, if you guess the twist,
the film is ruined for you. That wasn’t the case for me, though, and like all
good twists I felt that the clues had been there.
The film moulds itself well around
the twist, even to the point of having a character, Mr Haskins, who exists only
to fulfil the role of red herring, almost to the point of parody. Aside from De
Niro, though, the standout performance is from a very young Dakota Fanning, who
fulfils the trope of the creepy kid with aplomb.
The climax, in which De Niro, as
Charlie, chases his daughter through the house with an axe, may be clichéd, but
it was the only place to go after the revelation. And the final scene, in which
one of Emily’s drawings seems to suggest that she too may have multiple
personality disorder (Hollywood thriller version) is delicious.
It’s weird seeing this so soon
after Drop Dead Fred; for a while, it
appears as though we’re getting a very different spin on the concept of
imaginary friends! It isn’t quite up there with the best, relying as it does on
that one big twist, but it’s a good film nonetheless, and De Niro is superb.
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