The Other In 1972, the MPAA's then-recent implementation of their rating system was meant to judge onscreen content and not take directoral tone and unshown implications into account. That's the only logical deduction one can make, given that Robert Mulligan's screen adaptation of Thomas Tryon's bestselling novel The Other scored a squeaky-clean PG-rating. Looking at Mulligan's resume, it is impossible to pigeonhole him to any genre. His latter-day work includes successful 1980-ish comedies like Same Time, Next Year and Kiss Me Goodbye as well as acclaimed 1990-ish dramas that include Clara's Heart and The Man In The Moon. But his strongest area has always been period pieces with intense performances, best highlighted by To Kill A Mockingbird (1962), a Harper Lee adaptation that garnered him an Oscar nomination. And a decade later, he scored another winner (aesthetically, if not commercially) with The Other. Set in an unnamed American farming township in 1935, the story revolves around eleven-year-old Niles Perry and his identical twin brother Holland. Portrayed by can't-tell-'em-apart twins Chris and Martin Udvarnoky, Niles and Holland are part of an extended family whose matriarch is Ada (legendary German actress Uta Hagen). The boys' father is dead, and their mother (Diana Muldaur) spends most of her screen time traipsing dourly about the homestead. From the get-go, Niles is obviously the well-behaved one of the two, as well as the 'follower' in their relationship. Holland resorts to various mischief, often landing his twin into trouble in his stead. There's some sort of family heirloom in a clandestine tobacco tin which Holland has apparently relinquished to Niles, who doesn't seem to want it. A travelling circus comes to the area, featuring a sleight-of-hand magician who inspires the boys. Meanwhile, a troublesome cousin unwittingly jumps to his death from a hay loft, not knowing that his daredevil thrill ride would impale him on the tines of a pitchfork concealed under the hay he is supposed to land upon. And down the road, a batty old local woman (Portia Nelson) who has a history of spanking Niles for his brother's offenses meets with a heart-stopping magic trick. Ada is a wisened old Russian immigrant, and she shares a special bond with Niles which seems to be clairvoyant in nature. When the twins' mother is paralyzed in a tragic fall after confronting them about the mysterious heirloom, Ada realizes that she must set right a great evil which she had unknowingly set off some time before. And although Holland appears to be at the center of the misdeeds afoot here, Niles must confront his own participation in the events which have shaped the present scenario. The murderous "accidents" telegraphed in The Other are few and bloodless. This is not a graphic film by any means. But it is certainly horrific, at least during the second act. Once again, you'll find yourself musing, "Wait....this is rated PG ?!?" And hats off to the late Victor French (known more affectionately to TV audiences as Mr. Edwards on "Little House On The Prairie") as a crazed farm-hand who figures in strongly during the blood-freezing finale. The term "psychological thriller" was coined a long time ago, probably by some filmmaker who wanted a more dignified label for the horror flick he was shooting at the time. The Other is all of the above. It plumbs the depths of psychological dysfunction and murderous illusion while convincingly illustrating the look and the lay of 1935 Americana, much like Mulligan's job on Mockingbird ten years prior. It snares, ingratiates, rivets, shocks and then horrifies you. And it got a PG. Only in 1972, I guess.... >>Back<< >>Archive Index<<