Plot
India Stoker's 18th birthday is turned upside down after her loving father Richard dies in a horrific car accident. India is then left with her estranged unstable mother Evelyn. At Richard's funeral, Evelyn and India are introduced to Richard's charming and charismatic brother Charlie, who has spent his life traveling the world. He then announces that he is staying indefinitely to help support India and Evelyn, much to Evelyn's delight and India's chagrin.Shortly after Charlie moves in, India witnesses him argue with Mrs. McGarrick, the head caretaker of the house. Mrs. McGarrick then disappears and is never seen again. Charlie and Evelyn grow closer and intimate while India continues to rebuff Charlie's attempts to befriend her. Later, India's great aunt Gwendolyn arrives to visit the family, much to Evelyn and Charlie's dismay. At dinner, Gwendolyn grows suspicious of Charlie's claims of traveling the world and tells Evelyn that she needs to talk to her about Charlie.
Later that night, Gwendolyn changes hotels due to an unexplained fear and suspicion of Charlie. However, she loses her cell phone and tries to call the Stoker home from her hotel payphone. While making her call, Charlie tracks her down and corners her in the phone booth, seeming to be upset. He hands Gwendolyn her phone and then strangles her to death with his belt after explaining that he found her through the cab company. Meanwhile, India goes into the basement to eat ice cream and discovers Mrs. McGarrick's body in the freezer, realizing that Charlie murdered her, as well. After India discovers that Charlie is a killer, she unleashes her inner aggression at school and stabs a bully, Pitts in the hand with a pencil after he makes sexually derogatory remarks at her about Evelyn. This draws the attention of another classmate, Whip. India goes home and later witnesses Evelyn and Charlie growing intimate and wonders off to a local diner where she runs into Whip. Her and Whip go into the woods where they proceed to make out until India aggressively bites Whip. Whip then attempts to rape India until Charlie rescues India and breaks Whip's neck with his belt. India then aids Charlie in burying the body in her garden. She then attempts to call Gwendolyn, but hears her phone ring deep in the garden, realizing Charlie killed her, too. India takes a shower and experiences a sexual awakening, masturbating to the memory of the murder, climaxing as she remembers Charlie breaking Whips' neck.
Later, India goes through Richard's office to gather things of his she wants to keep. She discovers that a key she received as a birthday present belongs to a locked drawer to Richard's desk. Inside, she finds several letters from Charlie, which detail his travels. However, India discovers that the letters are all lies after finding the sending address on the back of the envelopes are from a mental institution. India then confronts Charlie who explains the truth: Charlie murdered his and Richard's younger brother Jonathan as a child because he was jealous that Richard paid more attention to him over Charlie. Charlie was then locked in a mental institution for several years. When released on India's 18th birthday, Richard gave Charlie a car, a generous amount of money, and an apartment in New York to cut off ties with him and prevent him from meeting India. Feeling hurt and betrayed, Charlie beat Richard to death with a rock and staged the car accident.
At first, India is in shock and angered. However, she seemingly forgives Charlie and grows closer after he provides an alibi for India when the Sheriff questions her about Whip's disappearance. They grow close to intimate before Evelyn witnesses them. Later that evening, Evelyn coldly expresses her desires to watch India suffer before confronting Charlie about how she knows the truth about him. Charlie seduces Evelyn and then attempts to strangle her before India appears and shoots Charlie in the face with a hunting rifle, killing him. She then buries Charlie's body in the backyard and proceeds to leave for New York.
She drives well over the speed limit on the highway, catching the Sheriff's attention. He pulls her over and asks why she's in a hurry and she says she wanted to catch his attention before he stabs him in the neck with a pair of sheers. India then follows the bleeding Sheriff into a field and shoots him to death with her hunting rifle.
Cast
- Mia Wasikowska as India Stoker
- Matthew Goode as Charlie Stoker
- Nicole Kidman as Evelyn Stoker
- Dermot Mulroney as Richard Stoker
- Jacki Weaver as Aunt Gwendolyn "Gin" Stoker
- Lucas Till as Chris Pitts
- Alden Ehrenreich as Whip Taylor
- Phyllis Somerville as Mrs. McGarrick
- Ralph Brown as Sheriff Howard
- Judith Godrèche as Doctor Jacquin
Reception
The film premiered at Sundance and the reviews were mostly positive. Writing in The Guardian, critic Jeremy Kay called the film "a gorgeously mounted family mystery dressed up as a gothic fairytale," and said the film presents viewers with clues worthy of Hitchcock: "Literary references and symbolism abound in Stoker. You can get tied up trying to figure out who is what. That is the idea. All the clues are there. You just have to look closely." The Guardian awarded Stoker four out of five stars in its review.
The film has received generally positive reviews from critics; it currently holds a 71% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 117 reviews. The site's consensus states: "Its script doesn't quite carry the dramatic heft of his earlier work, but Park Chan-wook's Stoker showcases his eye for sumptuous imagery and his affection for dark, atmospheric narratives populated by mysterious characters." Richard Roeper of Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3.5 out of 4, calling it "disturbingly good." Peter Travers from Rolling Stone gave it 3 out of 4, and called it a "thriller of savage beauty."
Writing for Variety, critic Guy Lodge praised the film, calling it "a splendidly demented gumbo of Hitchcock thriller."
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