When I received the DVD for Dimension’s “The Hole”, my first though was that it was going to be some kind of teen slasher flick. Looking at the cover, I was concinved that I was going to have to watch anyway, if for no other reason than to see Keira Knightly and Thora Birch. Birch has proven herself in the past to be quite a strong actress, capable of delivering a good performance in even the quirkiest of roles. She has become quite a name in Hollywood, but not necessarily well-recognized by the public at large. Knightly on the other hand, has become quite the ‘actress du jour’ following her starring roles in “Bend in Like Beckham” and “The Pirates of the Caribbean.” (And do I even have to mention her “Star Wars” role that guarantees her a lifetime shot at selling $20 autographs at conventions, should her career ever wane?) What concerned me most about “The Hole” was that the DVD cover pushes both actresses in the artwork, but they opt to quote a review from Cia.co.uk that says, “Keira Knightly… Gets more than a few pulses racing!”

I wasn’t sure what to make of that choice other than to hope riding the coattails of her success would help sell the movie. The fact that the film is rated ‘R’, and states that there is sexuality and nudity helps quite a bit, too. I’m sure there will be a glut of fan boys who will flock to see if they, in fact, get to see a little more of Knightly than her “Pirates” petticoats allowed them to.

Finally taking the time to sit down and watch “The Hole”, I was surprised in the fact that it wasn’t what I expected. As opposed to being some dumb teen slasher flick, it turned out to be nothing of the sort. Birch stars as a young student at an English boarding school who, along with her friends Mike (Desmond Harrington), Geoff (Laurence Fox) and Frankie (Knightly), decides to skip out on a weekend field trip to indulge in a little private party of their own. They go an abandoned bomb shelter and prepare to party the weekend away. All seems well and fun until they find they are locked in, with other way out. Hours turn into days, and though they manage to keep their wits about them at first, finally begin to realize they may never get out. With little food or water, their fears of dying begin to take over as they try to survive.

The film is told mostly in flashback, so right from the beginning you already kind of know the turnout. This would probably be my only real complaint about the film. I would have rather not known going in who would make it out alive and who wouldn’t. But where the film succeeds is in the telling of the story. What we want to know is what happened behind the locked cover of the bomb shelter and why. The answers are telegraphed throughout the film, and I saw them coming fairly early on, but they were no less shocking and disturbing.

The performances by all four main members of the cast are fairly strong, and Birch especially carries her role well. For those fan boys I mentioned earlier, they may be a little disappointed in the reasons for the ‘R’ rating. Most of the nudity the ratings speak of is unfortunately more along the lines of full frontal shots of guys in the shower.
The most you get from Knightly is some pretty heavy petting, and one surprise flash. Birch does a bit of the touchy-feely with Harrington, but there seems to be a lot of gratuitous fabric in the way. (Normally, I wouldn’t write about stuff like this. But as the film is not at all well-known it’s obvious that the DVD pics and quotes are attempting to sell to this audience).

“The Hole” was directed by Nick Hamm, the guy who gave us the more recent “The Godsend.” Where that film was a bit of a mess, “The Hole” is actually much better, at least as far as editing. Its non-linear approach to telling the story isn’t quite as confusing.

The new Dimension DVD offers up a few fairly interesting features in the form of deleted scenes and a very illuminating commentary by Hamm. In fact, it is one of the better commentaries I’ve heard in a while.

“The Hole” is not a great movie, but it is one worth checking out.

Directed by: Nick Hamm
Starring: Thora Birch, Desmond Harrington, Daniel Brocklebank, Laurence Fox, Embeth Davidtz, Keira Knightly
Extras: Deleted Scenes, Image Gallery, Theatrical Trailer
Specifications: Widescreen (2.35:1) Enhanced for 16x9 Televisions, Dolby Digital Surround Sound
Studio: Dimension
Release Date: 10/19/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: R (For Pervasive Language, Some Violence, Sexuality / Nudity, and Drug Use)
Website

We'll give The Hole a B-.