Henry's Asylum

"The Others"

I saw an excellent film (from Netflix) last Friday. “The Others” starring Nicole Kidman. I had been putting it off for a bit since anyone (or anything) associated with Tom (“I’m Just Plain Nuts”) Cruise has been a pain in the left side of my brain, these days. Plus, it didn’t help that Mr. Cruise was one of the Executive Producers. But I was pleasantly surprised. Not only was the film an excellent example of the way ghost stories should be made, but Ms. Kidman did an outstanding job in the acting department. Go figure. I guess next time I think I’ll actually pay attention to the Netflix reviews, which were basically very positive.

The story takes place on an island formally occupied by the Nazis. We find ourselves observing a mother and her two children trying to cope with the disappearance of the husband\father during World War 2. He’s missing and assumed dead since the war evidently ended two years prior to the events that are taking place. The children, we are told, have a severe allergy to light and must forever be kept in the dark or in light no brighter than a candle. The servants have run off for some reason and the mother has advertised for replacements. Shortly thereafter, three potential employees show up at her door and seem to be the answer to the mother’s prayers. Or are they? As things develop, we begin to understand that the new servants have a hidden agenda, which meshes with some surprising events from the past. I thought I had everything figured out until a double twist completely caught me off guard. If you like traditional creepy ghost stories that rely on the story telling as opposed to blood and gore (ala “Dead of Night” and the original “The Haunting”), then this film is for you. Definitely worth a look.

On the other side of my life, I was promoted, last week. I guess they didn’t want to wait until April to move forward with that small item. Now, I’m Senior Supervisor in charge of both shifts (120 employees). This is great for two reasons. Number one, of course, is the increased salary. Secondly, since I run both shifts, my hours are situated in the middle of the shifts. That means I no longer work till 1:30 in the morning. I come in just before lunch and leave early enough in the evening to actually see my family. I think I startled them for the first couple of days, but thankfully, no one dialed 911. This is Henry's version of "The Others":
“Who’s that?” (door opens)
“It’s me” (me)
“Me who?” (wife)
“Henry.” (me)
Everyone comes rushing out with various weapons and telephone at the ready (finger poised on "9")
“Oh it’s YOU! (read - "I thought you were dead") How was your day?” (everyone)

And "life" returns to normal…

posted by hbrennan @ 4:44 PM