OLD is the kind of movie that makes you wonder, was M Night Shyamalan ever that good? The film follows several families trapped on an inescapable beech where time passes at such a rapid rate that children become adults in hours and the adults begin to succumb to age and illness. A potentially interesting premise, right? But why didn’t Shyamalan put more thought into making his core high concept work, having it affect his characters in a compelling way and hold up to any amount of scrutiny? Why doesn’t anyone in this film (the completely wasted cast includes Vicky Krieps, Gael Garcia Bernal and Thomasin McKenzie) talk like a person rather than an exposition machine? What’s with all the weird shot framing and constantly spinning camera? Aside from the odd moment of unintentional comedy from the ridiculous situation, Old offers little but a laboured script, overcooked performances and a boringly pretty filming location. SSP