Stoker (2013)

After India's father dies, her Uncle Charlie, who she never knew existed, comes to live with her and her unstable mother. She comes to suspect this mysterious, charming man has ulterior motives and becomes increasingly infatuated with him.

Director:

Chan-wook Park

Writers:

Wentworth Miller, Erin Cressida Wilson (contributing writer)

Stars:

Mia Wasikowska, Nicole Kidman, Matthew Goode

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mia Wasikowska	...	India Stoker
Nicole Kidman	...	Evelyn Stoker
David Alford	...	Reverend
Matthew Goode	...	Charles Stoker
Peg Allen	...	Housekeeper 1
Lauren E. Roman	...	Housekeeper 2 (as Lauren Roman)
Phyllis Somerville	...	Mrs. McGarrick
Harmony Korine	...	Mr. Feldman
Lucas Till	...	Pitts
Alden Ehrenreich	...	Whip
Jacki Weaver	...	Gwendolyn Stoker
Dermot Mulroney	...	Richard Stoker
Tyler von Tagen	...	Young Richard Stoker
Thomas A. Covert	...	Young Charles Stoker
Jaxon Johnson	...	Jonathan Stoker

Storyline

India Stoker (Mia Wasikowska) was not prepared to lose her father and best friend Richard (Dermot Mulroney) in a tragic auto accident. The solitude of her woodsy family estate, the peace of her tranquil town, and the unspoken somberness of her home life are suddenly upended by not only this mysterious accident, but by the sudden arrival of her Uncle Charlie (Matthew Goode), whom she never knew existed. When Charlie moves in with her and her emotionally unstable mother Evie (Nicole Kidman), India thinks the void left by her father's death is finally being filled by his closest bloodline. Soon after his arrival, India comes to suspect that this mysterious, charming man has ulterior motives. Yet instead of feeling outrage or horror, this friendless young woman becomes increasingly infatuated with him.

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Plot Keywords:

Teenage Girl | Park | Strangled With A Belt | Mother Daughter Jealousy | Gun | 

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Taglines:

Innocence Ends.

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for disturbing violent and sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 March 2013 (UK)

Also Known As:

Lazos perversos

Filming Locations:

Hillsboro High School - 3812 Hillsboro Park, Nashville, Tennessee, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$160,547 (USA) (1 March 2013)

Gross:

$1,473,822 (USA) (29 March 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Searchlight Pictures, Indian Paintbrush, Scott Free Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The script was included in 2010's "Black List" of best unproduced screenplays.

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Quotes

[first lines]
India Stoker: My ears hear what others cannot hear; small faraway things people cannot normally see are visible to me. These senses are the fruits of a lifetime of longing, longing to be rescued, to be completed. Just as the skirt needs the wind to billow, I'm not formed by things that are of myself alone. I wear my father's belt tied around my mother's blouse, and shoes which are from my uncle. This is me. Just as a flower does not choose its color, we are not responsible for what we have come ...

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Crazy Credits

The credits scroll from top to bottom of the screen, rather than bottom to top, like in most scrolling end credits.

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Connections

Featured in Maltin on Movies: Jack the Giant Slayer (2013)
Movie reviewed in this episode.

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Soundtracks

"Becomes The Color"
Written, Performed, and Produced by Emily Wells

User Reviews

Atmospheric, sensual but lacking in emotional depth

"Stoker" is a Gothic, Hamlet-like, semi-supernatural story about a young girl whose father dies mysteriously and her seldom heard from uncle comes to live in her mansion, making eyes at her vampy mother and later on the girl herself. The girl, India, has an unnaturally keen sense of hearing and much of the early parts of the movie dwell on her sensual experience of her environment. The cinematography and close attention to minor detail in sound and visuals make this worth seeing on the big screen, even though it is often lacking in major action or plot.

Immediately when the uncle (Matthew Goode) arrives on scene, we are clued in that he is up to no good. He spends an inordinate amount of time looking generally creepy, which the camera lingers over to repeat the point to exhaustion. Ditto Nicole Kidman's vampish attraction. We are meant to see her as immoral, materialistic, and generally unconcerned with her late husband or living daughter, which would be no problem if this had a bigger payoff later. India is shown being bullied at school, but the film is so technical and aloof in is staging that we are never told particularly how she feels about these events. Her feelings would seem central to her later actions in the film. It's not necessary to hit us over the head with exact explanations, but considering how much the movie lingers on obvious motives of other characters, it is an odd exclusion.

When the uncle makes his murderous intentions clear, we are again not particularly invested, because the film concerns itself more with atmosphere than with action or feeling. Fairly major actors and characters come and go without much comment. It is a well-shot scene wherein India comes to be attracted to her uncle. They play piano together in a scene that echoes the pottery scene in Ghost, but this does not explain her ultimate character motivation. We are never told why the uncle is so attached to his young niece, or why she should see him as anything but a repellent figure. It's hard to go into more without spoiling plot points, but India's psyche – despite the lingering, fawning presence of the camera surrounding her most of the time – is still too unexplored by the movie's end to justify her ultimate actions.

I was a bit surprised given the Gothic elements of the story and the timeless nature of the house and surrounding areas that it was indeed set directly in the present. I think this bit would better have been left vague. And I do wonder if this movie is missing scenes that fill in more necessary elements of character. It could have inserted those scenes and left out the constant repetition of obvious character traits in Kidman and Goode's characters.

Overall, this is worth seeing, particularly in high quality, on a big screen, paying full attention to its small intricacies. Perhaps repeat viewings will shed better light on motivations. Some may find India empowering as a character, but many just may find her a confusing nebulous puzzle not worth revisiting.