Remy – India Stoker from Stoker
I place Stoker with Simon Killer, except this time with movies that will be most misunderstood. People went at Stoker with fervor, knowing it was Oldboy director Park Chan-wook’s first American film. I think they expected it to be as in-your-face, ultra violent, and just as bleak, and though it was bleak and had moments of violence, it was a far more subtle film, but with much more going on.
By the time you reach the end of (the admittedly brilliant) Oldboy, you have seen pretty much the whole story. By the time you reach the end of Stoker, the real story is just getting started, and we don’t get any of that. It was a brilliant directorial move on Chan-wook’s part, but one that left me drooling for more, wondering what was going to happen to India Stoker next. I can promise you, Stoker will end up being like a Kubrick film. People will be discovering metaphors and hidden subtexts in this film for decades to come.
I wont lie, just like with Iris and Rose from We Are What We Are, I would not mind peering into India’s life in twenty years and seeing if she went full dark or full light. Judging by the end, it might be safe to say full dark.