I decided to watch Dorothy Mills after going through a number of very positive reviews on IMDb, and I must say, ended up totally disappointed. The whole experience also goes to say a lot about IMDb ratings.
What starts as a moody psychological/supernatural thriller quickly descends into clichés and predictability with a lot of atmospherics compensating for little or no story to tell. The principal character of a psychiatrist suffering from a personal loss is done to death and, Carice Van Houten, though undoubtedly very beautiful doesn't provide any depth to it. Jenn Murray (as Dorothy Mills) has obvious talent, as she switches effortlessly between the multiple characters, proving to be the only star of the show. The character of Dorothy Mills herself however is full of clichés. A multiple personality disorder patient, who also happens to be possessed, seems absurd and too convenient. The director also fails to handle the underlying suspense of the story relying on many unnecessary scenes like the car crash in the beginning to add to the suspense while in effect taking it away. The appearance of the three teenagers threatening the psychiatrist etc is similarly unnecessary and useless to the story (So, the spirits of three teenagers possess Dorothy and also manifest themselves on the roads etc and to the Carice Van Houten character? Get real!). The whole idea of the islanders hiding something is too obvious from the start and so is Dorothy's predicament after the scenes depicting her contacting spirits. After that the story follows a downhill course to a silly ending where the "sinners" (rapists and possible murderers) are "banished" from the island.
Or maybe it is just a very mediocre Film with a bit of atmospherics etc for some entertainment value, the unusually high rating on IMDb though, only pumps up expectations which it certainly fails to meet.
What starts as a moody psychological/supernatural thriller quickly descends into clichés and predictability with a lot of atmospherics compensating for little or no story to tell. The principal character of a psychiatrist suffering from a personal loss is done to death and, Carice Van Houten, though undoubtedly very beautiful doesn't provide any depth to it. Jenn Murray (as Dorothy Mills) has obvious talent, as she switches effortlessly between the multiple characters, proving to be the only star of the show. The character of Dorothy Mills herself however is full of clichés. A multiple personality disorder patient, who also happens to be possessed, seems absurd and too convenient. The director also fails to handle the underlying suspense of the story relying on many unnecessary scenes like the car crash in the beginning to add to the suspense while in effect taking it away. The appearance of the three teenagers threatening the psychiatrist etc is similarly unnecessary and useless to the story (So, the spirits of three teenagers possess Dorothy and also manifest themselves on the roads etc and to the Carice Van Houten character? Get real!). The whole idea of the islanders hiding something is too obvious from the start and so is Dorothy's predicament after the scenes depicting her contacting spirits. After that the story follows a downhill course to a silly ending where the "sinners" (rapists and possible murderers) are "banished" from the island.
Or maybe it is just a very mediocre Film with a bit of atmospherics etc for some entertainment value, the unusually high rating on IMDb though, only pumps up expectations which it certainly fails to meet.