If you haven't seen the movie, you should.  This is the kind of movie which is truly best appreciated by those who know the least about it.  When I saw it, I only knew that Nicole Kidman was in it, and I'm glad I didn't know any more.  So, I'm giving readers this chance to skip the rest of the review and go watch the movie before hearing about it, although I'll try in my review not to spoil it too much.

This movie does a lot of things really, really well.  The pacing is intense, wrapping viewers up and never letting them go for more than a moment to catch their breaths.  The suspense is enormous, building up from the very start and tightening around your heart as it goes.  The use of light and darkness in the house is fascinating, and the music is well done also.  The nice thing is, the music is absent most of the time -- perfect, since Grace (Nicole Kidman's character) says that silence is something highly prized in this house.  When there is music, it is usually in a highly suspenseful scene where you aren't paying any attention to the movie anyway.

The "fear" scenes in this movie are not super new or innovative, but they are SO well done!  One of the scariest parts in the film (there are many!) is when Grace goes downstairs to investigate the piano music she hears from her bedroom.  Since the house is normally completely quiet, the sounds of the piano is especially upsetting -- and this isn't just scales being played, but something you might hear in a concert hall.  She creeps slowly toward the door to the music room, and the piano stops as soon as she touches the door handle!  Well, she goes in the room and the tension builds, but I don't want to go through the whole thing and ruin it.

I don't know much about acting, but the actors in The Others did a great job of convincing me.  The children are wonderfully believable, whether they are being petulant, scared, or angry.  The servants in each of their aspects are also easy to believe, and by the time John comes on the screen I've forgotten all about the people as actors and am only watching the people of the story.

The first time you see this movie, it is very, very, scary.  Watch out for spilled popcorn.  The uncertainty, the building apprehension, and all the strange happenings lead to a fever pitch of "scaredness" by the end.  The second time you see it, the uncertainty is gone, and this leads to watching most of the film with a morbid fascination and appreciation.  There are still two parts where something "jumps" out and scares you, so be forewarned!  But I do recommend seeing it a second time (same as The Sixth Sense, although I haven't brought myself to watch that again yet).  Keep in mind that The Others is powerful enough to haunt your dreams no matter how many times you see it!

Jess K