The Vanishing (2019) Review

"We all have to pay for what we've done."
-James Ducat



In 1900, three lighthouse keepers are in the middle of their six week shift when they discover a dead body and a chest of gold on the island.  Soon enough, people come searching for the gold.  As the keepers prepare to defend themselves from the outside threat, they realize too late that the real threat may already be among them.


What Works:

The Vanishing is carried by three very strong performances with the best being Peter Mullen, who is the oldest and the wisest of the keepers.  He is the main protagonist of the film and Mullen gives a fantastic performance.  He is extremely charismatic and you can't help but trust the guy.   I was really rooting for him and felt bad that the other two keepers kept screwing everything up for him.

The other two leads are played by Connor Swindells and Gerard Butler, who has one of his career-best performances.  The two of them have great chemistry and interesting character arcs.  They begin this film like brothers with one always messing with the other.  Watching their relationship deteriorate over the course of the film is fascinating to watch.  Butler is particularly impressive and shows off an wider range in his acting than he usually gets to.  I'd like to see him do more films like this in the future.

This movie handles tension extremely well.  The scene where the keepers discover the gold is a particular highlight.  It's a very intense sequence of events with Swindells being separated from the others in a very natural way.  It makes the resulting events extremely exciting because the others can't get over to help him immediately and he has to save himself.

Finally, the other really intense part of the film comes when a group of Norwegians come looking for the gold.  Every line of dialogue is delivered with careful precision and it took me to the edge of my seat.  I knew the Norwegians would eventually figure out they were being lied to, it was only a question of who or what would give up the game.  Watching them menacingly circle the island got my blood pumping and made the film very exciting.


What Sucks:

I don't love that we never see exactly how the Norwegians get on the island.  One minute they're on the boat, but then somehow they sneak around our heroes.  It doesn't make a lot of sense and felt very convenient.

Finally, the last 45 minutes of the film don't quite have the same impact as the first hour.  It's still good, but it never reaches the intensity of the earlier parts of the film.


Verdict:

The Vanishing is an intense and exciting film with interesting character and excellent performances, particularly form Peter Mullen.  The first half is definitely stronger than the second, but this movie has still got it going on.

 8/10: Really Good 

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