As the title suggests, “The Others” is slightly reminiscent of a ghost story. The movie opens in Jersey, part of the Channel Islands, in the year 1945. The opening scene features an eerily gloomy mansion, occupied by a mother and her son, Nicholas, and daughter, Anne. The mother, played by Nicole Kidman, is anxiously looking for people to help her around the house after the servants have mysteriously fled.

Three people arrive at the mansion in response to an ad Kidman’s character places in the newspaper. Mrs. Mills, an older woman, asks the mother whether she still needs servants. Mr. Tuttle, an older gentleman, tells the mother the various tasks each of them can perform. The third person, a younger woman named Lydia, remains silent, disturbing the mother. Mills tells the mother that Lydia is hard working, but mute. The mother takes the three of them on a tour through the mansion.

As the mother takes them through the house, there are several clues that something is amiss about her. She has many strange rules regarding the house. For example, the mother tells Mills that if one door is opened, it must be closed and locked before opening another door. She also says that direct sunlight must not be allowed to stream through the windows or enter any room. Her explanation is that her children are extremely photosensitive and cannot be exposed to sunlight.

Continuing through the rest of the house, Mills is told that meals are to be prepared at exact times throughout the day, and substitutions are not allowed. When Mills asks when to serve the master of the house his meals, the mother becomes teary eyed and informs her new housekeeper that her husband went off to war the year before and hadn’t returned. After completing the tour, the mother quickly retreats to her room.

Throughout the film, there are other peculiar things. The mother raises her children to be very religious, but the children do not exactly agree with everything they have learned or believe it to be the truth. The children do not talk back to their mother because she is fiercely spiritual and she doesn’t like her children to question her judgment to begin with. The children inform the new servants that there was a day when their “mother went mad,” as Anne puts it. That is a key point to keep in mind during the film.

All in all, “The Others” is very interesting and eerie, although I don’t particularly care for the ending. It adequately explains the entire movie, but the audience may wonder why they were left in suspense throughout the film. Also, the audience may be left with many unanswered questions. I can’t say too much else without giving too much of the plot away, but I do recommend this movie. I suggest to anyone who sees this movie to pay careful attention to every detail in order to fully absorb and understand the plot. I give “The Others” three out of four stars.