The new brainchild of M. Night Shyamalan, released in the Official box office under the name Old, many movie fans were looking forward to. The mystical thriller has become one of the director’s most discussed films. Despite the rather simple plot, the ending completely changes the meaning of the film Old, forcing you to look at what you saw from a different angle. The meaning of the film Old: an explanation of the plot & ending
A detailed analysis of the tape will allow you to understand the phenomenon of the story told by Shyamalan and fill in the gaps left after viewing the picture.
Plot Summary
Night Shyamalan based the plot of the film on the basis of the graphic novel by Pierre Levy and Frederic Pietersk “Sand Castle”. But the story shown in the film differs in many ways from the plot of the comic book. Therefore, in order to correctly understand the meaning of the film Old, you will have to briefly recall the content of the picture.
Interesting! Filming took place during the coronavirus pandemic. Therefore, all members of the film crew were tested daily for the presence of infection.
In the center of the plot is a group of vacationers of 11 people of different ages:
- Kalla family: insurance agent Guy and his wife Priska, children – son Trent and daughter Maddox;
- Cardiac surgeon Charles with his wife Crystal, their daughter Kara, Charles’ mother – Agnes;
- Nurse Djarin and his wife Patricia;
- Rapper Mid-Size Sedan.
Guy and Priska are about to get a divorce. In order not to traumatize the children with unpleasant news, parents decide to talk about the breakup during a family vacation. Priska has a malignant tumor, so she chooses a sanatorium located on the island to rest.
Relaxation
Upon arrival at the resort, the resort manager invites the Kalla family to go to the private beach. The rest of the group joins them.
At first, the beach seems just perfect: soft sand, clear water, colorful nature. But gradually everything is changing. First, children find various objects in the sand: old toys, rusty dishes. And then the waves bring the body of a dead girl ashore.
Adults notice that children have matured dramatically. Charles’ examination of the children confirms this,
The men make an attempt to return to the sanatorium, having passed through the gorge. But once between the rocks, they lose consciousness. Suddenly, Priska’s disease worsens, and Charles and Djarin are forced to urgently operate on her.
Adults are beginning to realize that their body is aging at an incredible pace. They live for about 50 years a day.
Agnes dies first. Djarin attempts to swim to the hotel, but drowns. Charles, suffering from a psychiatric illness, attacked Sidan and killed him.
Between Trent and Kara, who have become adults in a short time, a sexual relationship develops. Kara gives birth to a child, but he dies. The girl climbs a rock, but losing consciousness, falls and breaks.
The next to die from epilepsy is Patricia. Guy’s eyesight drops sharply, and Priska loses her hearing. But they have to fight off the distraught Charles.
During Charles’ attack on the nearly blind Guy, Prisca stabs the madman with a rusted knife. As a result, Charles gets blood poisoning and dies.
Loses his mind and Crystal. In a fit of frenzy, she tries to kill Trent and Maddox by throwing rocks at them. Crystal later dies due to brittle bones.
By evening, Guy and Priska die within a few seconds.
exposure
In the morning, Maddox and Trent, now in their 50s, decide to make another attempt to escape from the beach. But before that, they are going to build a sandcastle.
Trent regrets not being able to decipher the messages left for him by Idlib, a boy he befriended at a resort before going to the beach.
Together with their sister, they read the letter again. They manage to decipher information about corals that can protect swimmers between reefs. The siblings decide to take a chance, but during the swim, Maddox’s swimsuit gets caught on the reef.
At this time, an employee of the sanatorium is watching the group from the rocks. It turns out that the owner of the resort is a pharmacological company conducting an experiment on sick people.
Vacationers were not chosen by chance. Each of them suffered from a certain disease. Thanks to the beach’s natural anomaly, drug trials that would normally take years could be completed in a matter of hours.
The next day, new vacationers arrive at the sanatorium. But Trent and Maddox, who managed to swim through the reefs, disrupt the plans of the resort staff. They prevent the new arrivals from drinking cocktails laced with experimental drugs and tell the policeman who is vacationing on the island about everything, showing him the diary of a previous beach dweller with the names of the dead.
An investigation begins. The resort staff are arrested, and all survivors are taken off the island.
Brother and sister go home to their aunt, who is now younger than their nephews.
Old Plot Explanation
Old is a movie metaphor for human life. As the plot develops, the main meaning of the film Old (2021) becomes clear, which consists in showing the transience of time and people’s attitude towards it.
The symbol of elusive time is sand, from which children build a castle. The words and actions of the characters remind us of the need to appreciate every moment of life.
In parallel, the authors touch on the topic of aging. Fear of old age sits in many people. The director put into the film reflections on the aging process and people’s perception of it, showing this on the example of the characters.
On a note! The theme of aging is laid down in the 2011 film Old, the meaning of which lies in the senselessness of the pursuit of immortality. The fantastic picture shows well what global scientific discoveries lead to and what ethical problems arise as the dream of immortality is satisfied.
The meaning of the movie Old 2021 can also be interpreted from a religious point of view. People are born in order to die, to live in eternity. Salvation should not be expected from drugs, but from God. If people understood how quickly time passes, they would be more worried about the soul, and not about the body.
What is the essence of the ending
Despite the fact that the ending of the film Old (2021) surprises with its unpredictability, the meaning of the film’s ending is quite unambiguous and does not raise questions. The picture ends with the rescue of Trent and Maddox and the collapse of a corporation that conducts illegal experiments on sick people.
This film differs from the plot of the comic book, where all the characters die. Apparently, the authors of the novel, with such a tragic ending, tried to convey the idea of the inevitable death of every person.
In the end of the film Old, the director put a different meaning. If in the comic there are only hints of some kind of experiment, then Shyamalan speaks openly about the problem of ethics and morality of medical corporations and the pharmaceutical business. The employees of the sanatorium were ready to doom dozens of people to death for the sake of the mythical salvation of mankind.
The meaning of the film Old plunges into philosophical discussions about the transience of life, bewitching so much that you want to review it again. Everyone who has looked at the picture will surely find something important and valuable for himself in it.
