IMDb user comments for
Out of Bounds (2003)

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16 comments in total

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7 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
Better Luck Next Time Merlin, 8 November 2005

Author: Theo Robertson from Isle Of Bute , Scotland

A couple of years ago I did manage to speak to writer/director Merlin Ward who like nearly every British screenwriter was having problems getting money for his projects and was suffering the heart breaking experience of seeing his screenplays sitting on a shelf gathering dust , so when I heard one of his projects was finally going into production I felt happy for the guy . Alas after seeing OUT OF BOUNDS I found myself asking couldn't one of Merlin's other scripts have been more deserving of funding ?

Some people haver mentioned that the look of the film is at fault and the whole feel of the movie has that made for television look similar to one of those feature length plays found on ITV during 9pm on a Sunday night . This is certainly true but it's the screenplay that's at fault . The story starts with an art teacher at an all girls school having sex with Louise one of the pupils . It should be pointed that Louise is 18 and well above the age of consent but I couldn't help thinking this doesn't make it all right in anyway and I watched this the same day as a certain Scottish football team revealed that their new coach was someone who spent time in jail for having sex with a 15 year old so sure as heck I wasn't going to empathise with the characters

Problem number one: I couldn't empathise with the characters but that's not the major problem with the script which lies in its contrived over complicated nature in the last third . Rmember when you saw RETURN OF THE KING in cinemas ? Remember everyone started reaching for their jackets and handbags half an hour before the final credits ? We have a whole series of similar false endings here where you think the mystery has been cleared up then BANG Mr Ward decides an already over cluttered screenplay isn't complicated enough so he adds yet another plot twist which makes the story more and more ridiculous as it trundles along

Merlin I hope you make a success of your career but remember one thing - Less is more

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8 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Worth a bigger show, 10 December 2004
Author: Oct (wjphillips@clara.co.uk) from London, England

In the 1970s this modest entry would have been a 60-minute TV episode from an anthology such as Brian Clemens's "Thriller" or "Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense". To make it feature-length, too many false endings have been tacked on; but the substance is just about intriguing enough to keep a late-night television viewer (if not, apparently, a British distributor) watching to the positively final climax.

A girls' boarding school at half term affords plenty of shots of the heroine, Sophia Myles, creeping along deserted corridors and entering empty rooms, or being walked in on by a trio of sinister older women. Miss Myles, very much in the buxom English rose mould of Kate Winslet, acquits herself competently without lurching into the irritating extremes of scream queen on the one hand or dopey wide-eyed dupe on the other: she projects intelligence as well as courage.

Sophie Ward as her steely headmistress and Celia Imrie-- in a role as an art-dealing doctor which is outside her normal persona as a glamorous but trustworthy Scotch matron-- keep audiences guessing about their motives. The men are not as satisfactory. Sophia's object of adulterous affection, an American art teacher married to Ms Ward, is less a character than a McGuffin. Michael Elphick, sadly bloated in his last big-screen appearance, has little to do.

The soundtrack is too replete with creepy music: the natural sounds of a big old building in the depths of the English countryside could have been used more. There are a few wince-making genre clichés, such as Sophia flinching when a sheet is pulled back and she has to ID a disfigured corpse. But this is a British suspenser which keeps its language clean, aims above the gut and avoids mid-Atlanticism. It deserved better than a late-night BBC1 premiere without even a write-up in the 'Radio Times'; if the BBC had produced it as a TV movie, they would have talked it up.

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8 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
a very gripping english movie i'd highly recommend!, 13 October 2003

Author: eleanorperfect from London England

I thought this was a fantastic English thriller, and very well cast. It was gripping, the twists were fantastic, and it was lovely seeing that a great film can be made without spending a ridiculous budget. As a girl who has been to boarding

school it really was thrilling! I'd highly recommend it!

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6 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
A timid approach spoils a promising thriller, 14 December 2004

Author: Ivan McKeon from Fleetwood, UK

The headmistress of an all-girl boarding school discovers her art-teacher husband is having an affair with a pupil. The husband disappears leaving his wife and the girl alone in the rambling old-school buildings during a school break.On paper this sounds like a good premise for a creepy thriller. In reality what we get is a series of unlikely killings, red-herrings a-plenty and an uneven tone that never pulls the viewer in to the story.

The biggest problem is the timid, anaemic direction for which writer Merlin Ward himself must take the blame. This is clearly a case of failing to identify the target audience. Is this an afternoon TV movie or a late-night thriller? In trying to hedge his bets Ward misses both targets. Clearly frightened of "Lolita" comparisons, he has Sophia Myles portray the schoolgirl at the heart of the story as the blandest of blondes. In similar vain, he makes only the merest of hints as to why headmistress Veronica Van Huet (an otherwise excellent performance by Sophie Ward) would not have had the girl expelled immediately.

The ending piles on the unlikely events thick and fast but fails to provide a satisfying explanation for them.

In truth it's probably not as bad as I've made it sound, but it is unsatisfying to see a missed opportunity to make a better movie. If only the Coen Brothers had been in charge this could have been a first-rate black comedy.

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3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Atmospheric, 9 December 2004

Author: Kevin Lynch from London

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

This film is well acted, especially by it's two attractive leads, Sophie Ward and Sophia Miles. Two better known actors, at least to me, are in support roles - Celia Imrie and Michael Elphick.

The action takes place in a remote location (a girl's boarding school during the holidays) and has an Agatha Christie's 'Ten Little Indians' / 'And Then There Were None' atmosphere to it. The twists come thick and fast and I believe too often. The film seems to slip in and out of being a supernatural thriller and in the end I am unsure whether it was supposed to be or not. Perhaps a second viewing would tie up a few loose ends.

I have scored this movie 5/10 but it deserves higher for it's acting.

Spoilers: The character Michael Elphick played was introduced as such an unimportant, yet filler role, that a British audience would expect he would have an impact on proceedings later on. He did, but in a story of so many twists, it impact was diluted.

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4 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Good technical usage but a bit fuzzy in places., 3 December 2004
Author: clarebear667 (clarebear667@yahoo.co.uk) from Southport

I saw this when it was on the BBC the other day and thought the synopsis sounded pretty good. I thought that the aspects of a horror film were there but realistic. So many times have some occurrences in horror films been so coincidental. This was believable. I really did feel for Louise and how lonely she was. I liked the fact that you never really knew what was happening and even at the end you were still left guessing. I was confused by some of the characters and found their development a little hazy. This was especially so with veronica and imogen who i didn't understand. I also found a few too many twists. I think the best part of the film was Sophia Myles who was very good. The best thing was that I saw Celia Imrie two days after I saw this down Regent St. I don't know why I hadn't heard of this film before, its better than most films in the cinema.

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4 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Brilliant Brit Movie!, 13 October 2003

Author: Roger Hopkins from London, England

This shocker of movie comes highly recommended in several recent reviews, and foolishly I've been dragging my heels on giving it an eyeballing - but now I've cracked, and what a treat to behold! Writer Director Merlin Ward's movie debut OUT OF BOUNDS, is a genuine beacon of classy Brit storytelling, shining brilliantly against the usual slew of boring Brit fare, punch drunk on easy come easy spend lottery funds. Ward is a true left brain, right brain entrepreneur, having courageously funded his own movie and surrounded himself with the best in the business to realise this incredible result. Here's a story that delivers classic tension right from the opening titles - and which had me sweating on the edge of my seat till the final terrific twist in the tail - which I genuinely didn't see coming! The fine performances Ward extracts from his cast is a sharp measure of raw professionalism, and his stars Sophie Ward (no relation), Sophia Myles and understudy national treasure Celia Imrie, should be proud to add this outing to their career portfolios. Stealthily underlying the action, composer Mark Ryder's deadly score is an unnerving cardiac backcloth, worthy of Hitchcock's chilliest - and a very natural marriage to Ward's taught and frugal direction.

In the set up, boarding school student Louise (Myles) pleads with her sexy headmistress Veronica (Ward) to let her stay on at school during half term, ostensibly for extra studies. But oh dear, the seemingly innocent little girl happens to be a regular item with Veronica's hunky American hubby and fellow teacher, Matt (George Asprey). So what happens when Veronica finds out? and does Ward's dark and driving script visually live up to the graphic shock horrors that inevitably follow? For my own part, I needed a couple of Lorazepam after what you might call one of Celia Imrie's more interesting scenes!

For those lucky enough to see it, Sam Raimi's wonderful US movie A SIMPLE PLAN, creatively eclipsed the more media bullish but greatly inferior FARGO. In the same way, Merlin Ward's OUT OF BOUNDS does just this to all those tired British wannabe thrillers with nothing on board but a fat promotional budget. Clearly, OUT OF BOUNDS is a great Hollywood movie in all but country of origin, and if lacking in multi-million pound promotion, still has a massive audience in waiting, by way of good old fashioned word of mouth. Press Play and enjoy!

Roger Hopkins

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5 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
One of the strangest, most misleading films ever, excellent!, 29 November 2004

Author: ditto_3510 (ditto_3510@hotmail.com) from Scarborough, England

Wow, what can I say? This film was superb. With a young lady trapped in a whirling story with 2 other ladies, with a dark past to hide, and about her affairs, despairs and strives for life and truth. In a creaky old 'lady's school', it provided the eerie setting for the murders that were to take place. With twists and suspense, and a fine, fine plot, this film will have you gripped. With its stunning mix of complex mysteries and murders to boot, this film was a thrill a minute to watch. Excellent acting skills and the most precise timing I have ever seen in a film really brought it together. I urge any of you people out there reading this to see it, as I hope to again. And hey, why not email me about what you think? Maybe you agree/disagree with my comments? I guess I'll see.

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5 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Great Suspense Film - Highly recommended!, 7 February 2004

Author: (webmaster@scarlettjohansson.org) from Bern, Switzerland

I'm actually no big fan of so-called thrillers. But out of different reasons I occasionally watch one. Since I admire Sophia Myles' acting I decided to order Out of Bounds but didn't really know what to expect. But I was positively surprised. There are only a few characters in the story but every one is being developed well. Thus the characters are believable, which gives a film MANY plus points. The ability of the director to tell the story without ever failing to rise the tension and suspection is awesome. While the story's unfolding we never know what we're supposed to believe - we are allowed to make up our own minds. When the next twist comes we'll probably change our opinion again ... and again and all the while we enjoy great entertainment. The high amount of tension etc doesn't leave the film sparse of humour. And even though many will agree that it is not an every day story (we don't all go to boarding schools where we have an affair with the married teacher, who later disappears, and are then hunted by nightmares) we totally forget this because everything (the characters, the script and the acting) is very much drawn from real life. All of this makes it a rare film that makes you wonder why it so far hasn't got more recognition!! It is certainly a shame! After watching the film I had my head full of thoughts and was for a long time not able to decide what it was that made the film so appealing to me. I have come to think that it's the perfect combination of everything in the film. And for me what is really standing out are the totally natural actors/actresses and that once in a while I'm again thinking about the film. Well, I will certainly not regret the day I ordered the film.

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3 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Quite possibly one of the most underrated thrillers ever, 11 November 2005

Author: Reverend_Summerisle from Oxford, Oxfordshire, England.

While there is a lot of room to make this dark, riveting thriller even more dark and riveting, Out of Bounds is what I'd describe as an undervalued thriller. Perhaps with a stronger cast, a more robust director and more special effects, this could have made several awards.

Our heroine, Louise Thompson (Sophia Myles), is an eighteen-year-old school girl, staying in the 18th-century boarding school, under the watch of the headmistress, Veronica Van Huet (Sophie Ward). Unbeknown to anyone else, Sophia is having an affair with Mrs. Van Huet's husband, Matthew (George Asprey). But when he disappears, soon after Veronica discovers his adultery, Louise believes the worst has happened … is her headmistress a murderer??

Although Celia Imrie, a favorite actress of mine – and the actual only reason I watched this film, is as always brilliant in her versatile roles, the actual star of this underrated British thriller is Sophia Myles. Having had other successes prior to this role, such as From Hell, she shines as the suspicious Louise. Sophie Ward is also very convincing and a good choice for the part of the posh headmistress. Celia Imrie, as I said earlier, is also good as Dr. Imogen Reed - proving once again her terrific and versatile acting.

The dark-blue opening credits, with a Gothic black background is enough to make this a thriller in itself and to be honest, this is one of the key things I liked a lot – trivial – but very good. The chilling classical music throughout the film is also nail-bitingly tense.

Merlin Ward was a good director and carefully mastered this tour de force. Make no mistake when I said about the robust, I meant it may be more famous with a more known director. My only criticism would be the frightening ending was a little confusing and the fight scene could have been longer and more exciting.

So, did Veronica kill her husband … you'll have to watch it! A perfect thriller!! PS – At the current moment there is a terrible picture, please see amazon.com for a much better version. Hopefully, it'll help vent how good this thriller is!

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