A Cure For Wellness - directed by Gore Verbinski
I sincerely hope that Gore Verbinski is better known for great movies like "Rango" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" and decent ones like "Mousehunt" and "The Weather Man" than the diminishing quality of his two Pirates sequels and the out and out awfulness of his last film "The Lone Ranger".
"A Cure For Wellness" will not, I suspect do anything to redress the balance.
Not because it isn't a good movie - it is- but rather because it isn't good enough to wipe the memory clean of his previous flop.
Here we have a movie about cold, single-minded young New York businessman Lockhart (DeHaan) dispatched by his employers to a health resort in Switzerland to fetch his predecessor who they claim has gone quite mad.
Immediately it is apparent that something is off at the establishment.
There is a distinct Castle Dracula vibe to the place for a start.
The huge mansion and grounds are set high atop a mountain overlooking a village populated with folk who care not one little bit for the residents above them.
The nursing staff may have the faces and attire of angels but their demeanour suggests something considerably darker.
In the face of some polite but firm resistance from the head doctor Volmer (Jason Isaacs) the unsuccessful Lockhart retreats back down the winding road to the village.
A collision with a deer forces the car off the road and Lockhart finds himself a patient in the very place he just left.
Comparisons to Martin Scorsese's "Shutter Island" are inevitable and unavoidable here.
Not only is the basic set up the same with a young man arriving at a remote and creepy location to investigate a disappearance but DeHaan is attired almost identically to DiCaprio's Teddy with a long coat and loose fitting tie.
Then there is Isaacs doctor Volmer who like Ben Kingsley's Dr Cawley in the Scorsese film all but yells 'I am not to be trusted!!' with every expression and each line delivery.
Verbinski even imbues the film with the same cold pallette inducing a feeling of creeping dampness with every frame.
Both films are undeniably doing a lot of very similar things.
There is a mystery at the heart of them and we spend most of our time as viewers second guessing what is revealed to us.
"Shutter Island" does it better but there is still an awful lot to like about Verbinski's film.
The first and most obvious aspect worthy of praise is the look of the film.
There are some stunning shots all the way through it with an opening montage of New York high rise buildings reminding me of the first Matrix film with its green tinged colour scheme.
Then there is a beautiful shot utilising the reflection in the windows of a train as it snakes its way along the tracks and into a tunnel.
The slow, moody trip up the cobbled road to the grounds of the clinic begins with a sense of dread instilled by the ancient stone walls but gives way to the stunning beauty of the more modern clinic and the lush green lawns of the grounds.
Even the clinic itself provides for some stunningly shot scenes including a gem in a steam room and another in a water isolation tank.
The latter scene also marks the start of the darker, gothic horror aspects of the film.
Anyone with an aversion to water, dentistry or eels should probably avoid this film and if the sight of naked elderly flesh causes you discomfort you definitely should!
Credit too for the score from Benjamin Wallfisch ("Hidden Figures" and "Lights Out") and the sound editing and mixing which adds in lyrical tunes and repeated sound motifs like the sound of Lockhart's crutches on the tiled floors to great effect.
The entire raison d'etre of course is the mystery and as good as this film looks and sounds it is less effective in the manner in which it delivers the story.
For starters it is victim to a frequent issue that I have with Verbinski's movies.
They are simply too long for the story they are telling.
Even the first Pirates of the Caribbean - as great as it is could do with 15-20 minutes sliced out.
"A Cure For Wellness" has entire scenes that add nothing to the story other than (arguably) mood but the film is not ever short of that anyway so these scenes seem extraneous.
Some of the early themes seem to be pointing to a commentary on the state of career at the expense of all else but these ultimately lead nowhere.
Likewise the subplot about Lockhart's past is undercooked.
Both of these things could have (and should have) been stitched into the plot more.
There is still a huge amount of foreshadowing going on here too but the excessive length works against the sense of mystery by giving the viewer far much 'down time' to spend working out theories for themselves.
In my case I pretty much hit on the final answer about an hour in.
There is a big finish and the effectiveness was undoubtedly diminished for me as a result.
This film is best described as a fascinating near miss.
It is far from a failure but its faults do threaten to overwhelm its considerable strong points.
It is a luscious film drenched in the same sorts of Gothic horror sensibilities that Hammer Studios employed so well and directors like Tim Burton and Guillermo Del Toro are carrying on.
The violence is suitably ugly but lacks any sense of real threat or intensity.
DeHaan, Isaacs and Mia Goth are nicely cast and very watchable and I was not bored but I cannot see myself revisiting this.
Once all of the mystery is revealed I doubt that there is much more to be gained from re-watching to try to pick up the clues one may have missed first time round.
"Shutter Island" begs for a second view whereas "A Cure For Wellness" just isn't as subtle or as clever so as to warrant closer scrutiny.
It is very well made and definitely worth a look but in truth there isn't enough here to make this one a must see.
RATING: 74 / 100
CONCLUSION: Beautifully shot with a wonderfully moody score and some effective use of sound. Sadly the script isn't as good as the artistry in the technical aspects and while entertaining and not without some very effective scenes and ideas this is largely forgettable.
Starring: Dane DeHaan, Jason Isaacs, Mia Goth, Ivo Nandi, Celia Imrie, Tomas Norström, Adrian Schiller, Carl Lumbly, Ashok Mandanna, Magnus Krepper, Peter Benedict, Michael Mendl, Maggie Steed
Screenplay: Justin Haythe
Music Score by: Benjamin Wallfisch
Cinematography: Bojan Bazelli
Edited by: Pete Beaudreau & Lance Pereira
Running Time: 146 minutes
Language: English
Rated: R16 - Violence, Sexual Violence & Profanity & frequent nudity
Running Time: 146 minutes
Language: English
Rated: R16 - Violence, Sexual Violence & Profanity & frequent nudity
"A Cure For Wellness" will not, I suspect do anything to redress the balance.
Not because it isn't a good movie - it is- but rather because it isn't good enough to wipe the memory clean of his previous flop.
Here we have a movie about cold, single-minded young New York businessman Lockhart (DeHaan) dispatched by his employers to a health resort in Switzerland to fetch his predecessor who they claim has gone quite mad.
Immediately it is apparent that something is off at the establishment.
There is a distinct Castle Dracula vibe to the place for a start.
The huge mansion and grounds are set high atop a mountain overlooking a village populated with folk who care not one little bit for the residents above them.
The nursing staff may have the faces and attire of angels but their demeanour suggests something considerably darker.
In the face of some polite but firm resistance from the head doctor Volmer (Jason Isaacs) the unsuccessful Lockhart retreats back down the winding road to the village.
A collision with a deer forces the car off the road and Lockhart finds himself a patient in the very place he just left.
 |
| This is a frequently stunningly beautifally shot movie |
Not only is the basic set up the same with a young man arriving at a remote and creepy location to investigate a disappearance but DeHaan is attired almost identically to DiCaprio's Teddy with a long coat and loose fitting tie.
Then there is Isaacs doctor Volmer who like Ben Kingsley's Dr Cawley in the Scorsese film all but yells 'I am not to be trusted!!' with every expression and each line delivery.
Verbinski even imbues the film with the same cold pallette inducing a feeling of creeping dampness with every frame.
Both films are undeniably doing a lot of very similar things.
There is a mystery at the heart of them and we spend most of our time as viewers second guessing what is revealed to us.
"Shutter Island" does it better but there is still an awful lot to like about Verbinski's film.
The first and most obvious aspect worthy of praise is the look of the film.
There are some stunning shots all the way through it with an opening montage of New York high rise buildings reminding me of the first Matrix film with its green tinged colour scheme.
Then there is a beautiful shot utilising the reflection in the windows of a train as it snakes its way along the tracks and into a tunnel.
The slow, moody trip up the cobbled road to the grounds of the clinic begins with a sense of dread instilled by the ancient stone walls but gives way to the stunning beauty of the more modern clinic and the lush green lawns of the grounds.
Even the clinic itself provides for some stunningly shot scenes including a gem in a steam room and another in a water isolation tank.
The latter scene also marks the start of the darker, gothic horror aspects of the film.
Anyone with an aversion to water, dentistry or eels should probably avoid this film and if the sight of naked elderly flesh causes you discomfort you definitely should!
Credit too for the score from Benjamin Wallfisch ("Hidden Figures" and "Lights Out") and the sound editing and mixing which adds in lyrical tunes and repeated sound motifs like the sound of Lockhart's crutches on the tiled floors to great effect.
 |
| Dane DeHaan as Lockhart.... more than a little Leonardo 'Teddy' DiCaprio to the role |
For starters it is victim to a frequent issue that I have with Verbinski's movies.
They are simply too long for the story they are telling.
Even the first Pirates of the Caribbean - as great as it is could do with 15-20 minutes sliced out.
"A Cure For Wellness" has entire scenes that add nothing to the story other than (arguably) mood but the film is not ever short of that anyway so these scenes seem extraneous.
Some of the early themes seem to be pointing to a commentary on the state of career at the expense of all else but these ultimately lead nowhere.
Likewise the subplot about Lockhart's past is undercooked.
Both of these things could have (and should have) been stitched into the plot more.
There is still a huge amount of foreshadowing going on here too but the excessive length works against the sense of mystery by giving the viewer far much 'down time' to spend working out theories for themselves.
In my case I pretty much hit on the final answer about an hour in.
There is a big finish and the effectiveness was undoubtedly diminished for me as a result.
 |
| The aptly named Mia Goth as Hannah and hello to Jason Isaacs as Dr Volmer |
It is far from a failure but its faults do threaten to overwhelm its considerable strong points.
It is a luscious film drenched in the same sorts of Gothic horror sensibilities that Hammer Studios employed so well and directors like Tim Burton and Guillermo Del Toro are carrying on.
The violence is suitably ugly but lacks any sense of real threat or intensity.
DeHaan, Isaacs and Mia Goth are nicely cast and very watchable and I was not bored but I cannot see myself revisiting this.
Once all of the mystery is revealed I doubt that there is much more to be gained from re-watching to try to pick up the clues one may have missed first time round.
"Shutter Island" begs for a second view whereas "A Cure For Wellness" just isn't as subtle or as clever so as to warrant closer scrutiny.
It is very well made and definitely worth a look but in truth there isn't enough here to make this one a must see.
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