Entertainment - Cinema   

DARK WATER

ZIYA US SALAM

(At PVR Saket and other Delhi theatres)

There is a line in the film that sums up the bargain you make when you pay up to watch this film. "Nine hundred dollars for a million-dollar view," says a real estate agent as Jennifer Connelly, here as a woman separated from her husband, prepares to move into an apartment. She does not get a million-dollar view in the film, far from it, but we get our money's worth in this film.

It is one horror story that does not get people screaming their lungs out, young women shrieking and men biting the tips of their fingers. It is elegant in its approach, quite plausible in its storyline and rich in symbolism. There is a woman who has moved into a downtown apartment with her child. Besides the challenges of a mundane existence, she has to contend with another problem - there is dark water leaking from her ceiling, there is dark water in her shank, in her bath! Everything is dark and dank - just like her life. Add to that the mother's childhood fears and the little girl's imaginary friends and you have a film that is emotionally engrossing.

Director Walter Salles's film is based on a Japanese thriller by Hideo Nakata. Expect no masterpiece here, just see a would-be master at work. And enjoy the film for its breezy storytelling and some good work by Connelly and company.

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