An Absorbing, Well Written Thriller
Armed with a neat twist on the usual thriller genre, In Darkness is a well written, often-times exciting journey into the dark underbelly of London’s criminal underworld. As the story progresses, the neatly intricate opening does lose some focus as the narrative branches out and encapsulates a wider range of characters. Still, In Darkness is a surprisingly enjoyable film and buoyed by great acting all round from its stacked cast. While there are better thrillers out there and In Darkness is unlikely to be remembered in the glut of films released around this time of the year, In Darkness is still a solid film and well worth a watch. The story begins with Sofia (Natalie Dormer), a blind pianist who hears an altercation with her upstairs neighbours which ends with one of them falling to their death. As an investigation is opened and Sofia’s end game is revealed, In Darkness branches out and begins to include several key players including Radic (Jan Bijvoet), icy, calculated Alex (Joely Richardson) and cockney police detective Mills (Neil Maskell) as the perspective shifts to the different characters. While the story itself is interesting and told in a compelling way the switching perspectives does lose some of the intimacy built during the opening act as we follow closely to Sophia as she goes about her day. There’s a few neat little twists in the plot too and their inclusion is certainly a welcome one as the story evolves from what seems like a straight forward thriller to something entirely different as the film nears its climax. While the story is prone to falter at certain moments during its run time, the same cannot be said for the acting which is excellent throughout. Natalie Dormer is sublime as Sofia and her portrayal of a blind girl is astonishingly accurate and competently delivered. While the others who share the screen with her can’t quite match up to her excellence, there’s still a good array of talent here that do the best they can to match Dormer’s performance. The camera work helps here too with multiple shots clinging to Sofia early on. As the film progresses, the array of shots do open up and for the most part, manage to emphasise the action on screen. One particular scene sees a metronome ticking and the scenes changing with every tick helping to give a slight artistic edge to the film. In Darkness is one of those films that’s likely to pass a lot of people by, especially during a time where titles like Deadpool 2 and Infinity War are likely to dwarf all other releases at the cinema but this is one thriller well worth checking out. The acting is excellent all round, the story interesting and the idea of a blind protagonist is certainly an original one although there will inevitably be some that see this as an exploitation rather than the neat little plot device that it is. Still, In Darkness is well worth a look in and if you like thrillers or a well written story, this one is well worth checking out.
