Directed by Guillermo del Toro and written by del Toro and Matthew Robbins, Crimson Peak is the story of a young woman who marries an aristocrat as she moves into her husband’s mansion as it is filled with ghosts and other things. The film plays into a woman with an interest in the supernatural as she gets more than she bargains for in her new life. Starring Mia Wasikowska, Tom Hiddleston, Jessica Chastain, Charlie Hunnam, and Jim Beaver. Crimson Peak is an entrancing yet eerie film from Guillermo del Toro.
Set in the early 20th Century, the film revolves around a young author who meets a British aristocrat as she falls for him where they later marry where she would live into his decayed mansion with his sister as the home is filled with ghosts and other mysterious things. It’s a film that plays into a young woman who has been fascinated with ghosts since she was a child as she wants to write stories with ghosts. Upon meeting this aristocrat, Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska) is intrigued by this man though appearance in clothing and other eccentricities raises the suspicions of her father (Jim Beaver) and family friend Dr. Alan McMichael (Charlie Hunnam). Once she marries Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston) and moves into their home, many mysterious occurs as well as the treatment she is receiving from his sister Lucille (Jessica Chastain).
The film’s screenplay by Guillermo del Toro and Matthew Robbins doesn’t just play into Edith’s fascination with ghosts but also with those that don’t play by conventional behavior or play by certain rules. It’s among the reasons why she would be attracted to someone like Thomas as he wears clothes that are out of style while having ideas that seem to be very radical. While Edith’s father is aware of what Thomas wants, he is suspicious about him and his sister as he asks for some investigation into who the Sharpes are. Upon realizing what they’re up to, things don’t go as they’re planned once Edith marries Thomas where she does question the things that go on in the house as well as other odd things. Thomas and Lucille Sharpe are strange not just for the Gothic clothes they wear but also in the house they live which is decaying and in need of work.
While the two do share ideas of what they want to, Thomas is the kinder of the two where it seems like he is falling for Edith for her money but he becomes more fascinated with her as the story progresses. Lucille however, is a very troubling woman as someone who has a very dark demeanor as she doesn’t seem to like having Edith around where she always gives her tea and pretend to be very kind towards her. Yet, even she knows that Edith knows what they’re probably up to which adds a much darker edge to her character. Once more revelations towards the Sharpe are unveiled, the story definitely becomes more engaging in terms of the drama and the stakes that occur. Though it does deviate from many of the conventions that is expected in horror, del Toro and Robbins do make it more about the setting and the relationship of the characters rather than going for the big scares.
Guillermo del Toro’s direction definitely owes a lot to not just Gothic imagery and set pieces but also mythological elements that explores the idea of ghosts and what they want. While it doesn’t play towards many of the conventions of horror in terms of big scares, del Toro is more concerned with the story as it relates to Edith’s own fascination with ghosts and her need to find more in her somewhat sheltered existence as a writer. Shot largely in Toronto as both Buffalo, New York and as England, the film maintains this look that is quite unique from the sepia-drenched look of Buffalo where everything feels modern and progressing as opposed to the world of the Sharpes which represents the old world that is decaying and trying to catch up with the modern world. The usage of the wide and medium shots gives del Toro the chance to breathe life into these landscapes with some unique tracking shots for many of those exteriors.
For the scenes set in England, del Toro definitely plays up the Gothic tone of the film where he knows how to create suspense as it relates to the ghosts that Edith encounters. It’s mixture of terror and mystery definitely play into the home of the Sharpes where it is a home is surrounded by red mud that is covered in snow and a basement filled with more red mud. The direction would have del Toro create some unique images but also a sense of dread which doesn’t just relate to the Sharpes and their past but also what is happening to Edith. Once the mysteries relating to the Sharpes are unveiled, the film does take on a darker yet more dramatic tone where lots of conflicts would occur as it’s not just about love but also death. Overall, del Toro crafts a mesmerizing yet thrilling film about a young woman’s marriage to an aristocrat and her encounter with dark spirits in the new home she moves into.
Cinematographer Dan Laustsen does phenomenal work with the film‘s ravishing cinematography from its usage of candles to maintain an atmosphere in some of the interior scenes as well as the usage of sepia-drenched colors for many of the scenes set in Buffalo along with the usage of blue at the Sharpes‘ mansion. Editor Bernat Vilaplana does brilliant work with the editing with its stylish usage of transition wipes as well as jump-cuts and other stylish cuts to play into its suspense and drama. Production designer Thomas E. Sanders, with art director Brandt Gordon and set decorators Jeffrey A. Melvin and Shane Vieau, does amazing work with the set design from the home of Edith lived in Buffalo to the many rooms and exterior setting at the Sharpes‘ family home. Costume designer Kate Hawley does excellent work with the clothes from the clothes that the men wear to the gowns that the women wear including the very colorful yet eerie dresses that Lucille wears.
Special effects makeup artists Jason Detheridge, Nacho Diaz, and Neil Morrill do fantastic work with the look of the makeup of some of the gore that occurs in a few characters including the hairstyles that Edith and Lucille sport. Visual effects supervisor Dennis Berardi do excellent work with the visual effects from the design of the ghosts as it has this very eerie yet evocative look to them that is scary but also entrancing. Sound editor Dennis Leonard and sound designer Randy Thom do superb work with the sound in creating some unique sound effects for the ghosts as well as creating some mixing for some of the atmospheric textures for its suspenseful moments. The film’s music by Fernando Velazquez does remarkable work with the music as it is this lush orchestral music that plays into the drama and suspense which features a mixture of string arrangements and piano pieces while music supervisors Peter Afterman and Margaret Yen provide some classical music that Lucille would often play.
The casting by Robin D. Cook does wonderful work with the casting as it features some notable small roles from Leslie Hope as Dr. McMichael’s mother, Emily Coutts as Dr. McMichael’s sister, Burn Gorman as an inspector named Holly that Edith’s father hired to find out about the Sharpes, Sofia Wells as the young Edith, and as ghosts, Doug Jones and Javier Botet who both provide their physical selves for movements of the ghosts. Jim Beaver is excellent as Edith’s father Carter Cushing as a self-made man who is suspicious about the Sharpes’ as he is more concerned for Edith’s safety and happiness as it’s a very engaging performance from the veteran actor. Charlie Hunnam is fantastic as Dr. Alan McMichael as a childhood friend of Edith who knows a lot about bodies and such where he is also suspicious of the Sharpes’ where his investigation about them would have him come to England.
Jessica Chastain is incredible as Lucille Sharpe as this woman who is reluctant about having Edith in her family as it becomes clear that she doesn’t really like her as it’s a performance that is very dark and also quite scary at times where Chastain goes all out towards the film’s third act as it is definitely one of Chastain’s finest performances. Tom Hiddleston is brilliant as Thomas Sharpe as a baronet who falls for Edith as he brings her to England while hoping some of her financial connections could help him with his mining machine as it’s an ambiguous performance which has Hiddleston showing some conflict in his devotion towards Lucille and love for Edith. Finally, there’s Mia Wasikowska in an amazing performance as Edith Cushing as an aspiring writer who falls for the mysterious Thomas Sharpe where she moves into his home and encounter ghosts which only furthers her fascination with them while dealing with the darker aspects of her home as it’s one of Wasikowska’s finest performances.
Crimson Peak is a phenomenal film from Guillermo del Toro. Featuring a great cast, dazzling visuals, a sumptuous score, and an entrancing story. The film is a very unusual yet enthralling one from del Toro that doesn’t play into the conventions of horror while bending all sorts of genres to create something that is very different. In the end, Crimson Peak is a sensational film from Guillermo del Toro.
Guillermo del Toro Films: Cronos - Mimic/Mimic (Director's Cut) - The Devil's Backbone - Blade II - Hellboy - Pan's Labyrinth - Hellboy II: The Golden Army - Pacific Rim - The Shape of Water - Nightmare Alley (2021 film) - Pinocchio (2022 film) - The Auteurs #10: Guillermo del Toro
© thevoid99 2015
Directed by Guillermo del Toro and screenplay by del Toro and Travis Beacham from a story by Beacham, Pacific Rim is the story about a small band of humans trying to save the world from gigantic monsters known as Kaijus who are destroying Earth in 2020 as they emerged from a portal in the sea. The film is a tribute of sorts to the Japanese monster movies like Godzilla that is mixed in with a human story as a man tries to find redemption with a young rookie in operating a robot that can defeat the monsters. Starring Charlie Hunnam, Rinko Kikuchi, Idris Elba, Charlie Day, Clifton Collins Jr., and Ron Perlman. Pacific Rim is a spectacular yet exhilarating film from Guillermo del Toro.
The film is an apocalyptic tale of sorts where humanity band together to fight these monsters called Kaijus who wreak havoc on humanity as they emerge from a portal in the pacific ocean. With the help of giant robots named Jaegers that are manned by two pilots, they’re able to battle the Kaijus but the monsters have gotten stronger and more dangerous as the world is about to go to an end where a retired pilot named Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam) reluctantly returns to the fold to fight the monsters with a rookie named Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi). It’s a premise that is kind of simple in terms of what is expected in a monster movie where man-piloted giant robots have to battle these massive monsters to save the world. Yet, there’s a lot more that Guillermo del Toro and co-screenwriter Travis Beacham offer.
The film begins with Becket’s early successes as well as how the Kaijus arrived into the world and the war that forced many countries to come together and battle these monsters. It’s all told in a 20-minute sequence to establish key elements into the Kaijus as well as why Becket left the Jaeger program due to tragedy. Yet, it plays into Becket’s reluctance into returning to the program as well as the fact that his new partner Mako is someone who also had encountered tragedy due to Kaijus. Since the Jaegers had to be piloted by two people due to its size and need to be monitored mentally as it would be overwhelming for one person. It does play into the drama as well as the tragedies that Becket and Mako shared as well as Mako’s connection with Becket’s former superior Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba).
There’s also elements of comedy where it plays into two scientists in Dr. Newton Geizler and Dr. Hermann Gottlieb (Burn Gorman) who are trying to understand the mind of the Kaiju where the former is a bit of a nutcase who considers himself to be a Kaiju-groupie. Yet, their story would play into not just the development of the monsters but more into their intentions as they would evolve into something far more treacherous leaving the small numbers of Jaeger pilots to be overwhelmed. Particularly as the pilots of those Jaegers have some dissent towards Becket for being responsible for the fall of the Jaeger program as well as Mori for being inexperienced. It allows Becket and Mori to connect in many ways as it would help them get ready for battle if anything is going to happen. While it has a storyline that is formulaic, del Toro and Beacham do create enough weight to the story and the characters to make sure that these are people to root for.
The direction of del Toro is quite vast in not just the scope that he presents but also in creating a world that’s in a state of war with monsters as it’s heading into its final days with very little options left. The direction has del Toro not just employing a lot of massive set pieces and battles between robots and monsters but add that human element where two people have to work together or else they will die in the hands of a monster that continues to evolve. The stakes add to the sense of drama where del Toro knows when to focus on the pilots but also balance it with the way they control the robots to fight these monsters. Films in that genre usually tend to overwhelm the audience with a lot of fast-cutting and such to present something chaotic where it’s almost nonsensical. What del Toro does in the action isn’t just slow things down a bit where he gives the audience exactly what is happening but also remind them that there’s a human story involved.
The direction also has some intimacy in the way the relationships between some of the characters are played out as it includes some comedy where it keeps the story lively without the need of too much exposition. Some of these moments include Dr. Geizler’s encounter with a black markets dealer named Hannibal Chau (Ron Perlman) who carries lots of Kaiju body parts that is full of humor as it provides some insight into what Dr. Geizler wants to do but also its dangers. Its climatic battle definitely lives up to not just the spectacle that is needed but also in how big the stakes are where characters have to make decisions in not just trying to save the world but also to stop the Kaijus from creating more havoc in the world just as they’re getting bigger and badder. Overall, del Toro creates a very sensational yet entertaining film that does a lot more than what is expected in a typical summer action-blockbuster.
Cinematographer Guillermo Navarro does brilliant work with the film‘s colorful cinematography from the stylish look of the scenes set in Hong Kong to the looks of the scenes set in the sea and at the station where the Jaeger pilots and crew live and work at. Editors Peter Amundson and John Gilroy do amazing work with the editing in creating some stylish yet rhythmic cuts for the film‘s action scenes without delving into the more common fast-paced chaotic editing style by slowing things down a bit while being more straightforward for the dramatic moments of the film. Production designers Andrew Neskorommy and Carol Spier, with supervising art directors Elinor Rose Galbraith and Richard L. Johnson and set decorator Peter P. Nicolakakos, do fantastic work with the set pieces from the look of the base where the Jaeger crew live at to the look of Hong Kong and Chau’s home.
Costume designers James Hagarty and Kate Hawley do excellent work with the costumes with Hagarty creating the Jaeger pilot suits while he and Hawley create more casual look for some of the characters with the exception of Chau. Visual effects supervisors John Knoll, Eddie Pasquarello, James E. Price, and Zachary Tucker do phenomenal work with many of the visual effects where it has a sense of realism in its look but also play to a world that is ravaged in chaos. Sound designers Scott Martin Gershin and Tim Walston do superb work with the sound to create layers of sound effects in the way the sounds of the robots and monsters as well as some of the locations they‘re in during the battles. The film’s music by Ramin Djawadi is wonderful for its sense of orchestral bombast mixed in with some low-key somber pieces while some of the heavier stuff includes contributions from Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello.
The casting by Margery Simkin is remarkable for the ensemble that is created as it features some small but notable appearances from Paul Michael Myers as the young Becket, Mana Ashida as the young Mori, Charles, Lance, and Mark Luu as a trio of Chinese Jaeger pilots, Robert Maillet and Heather Doerksen as two Russian Jaeger pilots, and Diego Klattenhofff as Becket’s brother who was also his co-pilot. Mark Martini and Robert Kazinsky are terrific in their respective roles as the father-son Jaeger pilot duo Herc and Chuck Hansen while Clifton Collins Jr. is excellent as the Jaeger technician Tendo Choi who is the brains of sorts behind the machines. Burn Gorman is very good as the very mathematics-based scientist Dr. Herman Gottlieb while Charlie Day is very funny as the more out there scientist Dr. Newton Geizler who finds a way to see what the Kaijus are going to do.
Ron Perlman is fantastic as the black markets dealer Hannibal Chau as Perlman brings a lot of chew-scenery and humor to the film as he is also someone that knows a lot about the Kaijus. Idris Elba is great as Stacker Pentecost as Elba brings a lot of gravitas as a man who is a true leader but also carries a past that haunts where Elba also gets the chance to have a speech before the final battle that is a truly unforgettable moment. Rinko Kikuchi is amazing as Mako Mori as a young woman who is definitely a skilled warrior and knows a lot about what to do in battle but is hampered by her own memories as she knows what she has to do to step up and fight. Finally, there’s Charlie Hunnam in an incredible performance as Raleigh Becket as a former Jaeger pilot who returns to the fold as he tries to deal with his own demons while helping Mako get ready as Hunnam has this sense of humility and guilt that he carries while having good rapport with Kikuchi.
Pacific Rim is an extraordinary yet exciting film from Guillermo del Toro. Thanks to a brilliant ensemble cast and amazing technical work, the film is definitely more than just a cut above most big blockbuster action films. It’s a film that pays tribute to the monster movies of the past while giving it a new spin for the 21st Century. It’s also a film that has enough drama and humor for audiences to be engaged to as well as action that can thrill them. In the end, Pacific Rim is a phenomenal film from Guillermo del Toro.
Guillermo del Toro Films: Cronos - Mimic/Mimic (Director's Cut) - The Devil's Backbone - Blade II - Hellboy - Pan's Labyrinth - Hellboy II: The Golden Army - Crimson Peak - The Shape of Water - Nightmare Alley (2021 film) - Pinocchio (2022 film) - The Auteurs #10: Guillermo del Toro
© thevoid99 2013
