After watching all these magnificent grand finale of light-vs-dark showdowns (Potter, Twilight, Narnia, just to name the most obvious) one would expect more of the same in "Creatures" (well, maybe not as many head ripped directly off the necks). I acknowledge, and agree, that it is too early to talk about grand finales. But even for the first of what hopefully (I like this one) a developing franchise, the climatic confrontation is of a very different nature. We don't even see what really constitutes light and dark. The confrontation is in the form of the two sides' rivalry claim of affinity on a much coveted object: a girl on her sixteenth birthday. Let me back up.
In a nicely paced narrative with VO of protagonist Ethan Wate (Alden Ehrenreich), the story unfolds as he is attracted to mysterious classmate Lena Duchannes (Alice Englert), a sort of gender-reversed Bella Swan-Edward Cullen plot line. Instead of vampires, we have witches, or a gender-neutral and classier name they prefer: Casters (of what, you ask?). Both targets of minority discrimination, Edward Cullen generates fear while Lena Duchannes is more along the line of a victim (despite her supernatural power, often uncontrollable, to hit back). Set in the stage of this narrow-minded fictional town Gatlin, South Carolina, the drama that develops is founded on two key plot elements: the teenage love story and the aforementioned reckoning on Lena's sixteenth birthday, and the crucial interplay between them.
While Lena's own nature appears to lean towards the light, it is by no means certain that she can avoid the fate of becoming a dark Caster upon turning sixteen, and her love with a mortal may become the undoing of her. It all goes back to the Civil War when an ancestor Genevieve Duchannes breaks the Casters' law by using her power to bring a mortal lover back to life. This is all the logical detail that needs to support the plot, if you ask me. To make things simple, therefore, I would just say that to minimize the risk of Lena turning dark on that fateful birthday, she should end her love with Ethan. They both know it. She is agonized, torn apart internally. He never waver one iota, firmly believing that lover conquers all.
Now to the other players. Lena's relatives who live in the same Gothic house with her are all supportive of her taking the path of light, led by uncle Macon Ravenwood. While they are not entirely unsympathetic to Ethan, they see no solution other than his leaving her alone. Her mother Sarafine who had died (but here, death takes a difference meaning that we mortals cannot understand) comes back through the delicate art of possessing a human object, in this case, narrow-mindedness personified, one Mrs. Lincoln (Emma Thompson), pillar of the Gatlin community. Then, driving into town in a blood-red convertible, turning every head in the species in the opposite sex wherever she goes, is Ridley Duchannes (Emmy Rossum), a cousin who was once closer than a sister but claimed by the dark side when she turned sixteen. These two women, obviously, represent forces sworn to lead Lena along the path they themselves have taken. Last but not least, on Ethan's side, is nanny Amma (Viola Davis), a seer who has power to match those of Macon who, incidentally, has once been very close to Ethan's now deceased mother and might have been a serious contender for her love if he were not a Caster himself.
While I have related these somewhat involved background relationships in a plain, analytical manner, they actually unfold in the movie in a much more interesting way. The encounter of Amma and Macon, for example, invokes tension that spell a clash of animosity and affinity. Ridley, when she first appeared in that glossy red convertible, would be mistaken for Sarafine as the movie makers intentionally misleads the audience. That, until Sarafine appears abruptly in a confrontation with Macon, in a scene of delightful montages. How everything gets finally resolved is, quite predictably, left with a twist which, however, is itself not quite easily predictable. Unlike all these other movies mentioned, the vacuum left by which it tries to fill, "Creatures" does not indulge in overblown GCI-supported epic clashes. There are only two such scenes (just the right number, one in the middle and one at the end) which are both excellent, visually appealing and emotionally exciting. This appeal of movie is built on interesting development of a sensible story and, most of all, on an excellent cast.
Choosing two not-so-familiar faces for the main protagonists, economic reason as cited by some critic aside, introduces a breath of freshness, provided that the choices are wisely made. They are. Alden Ehrenreich and Alice Englert have such easy sincerity for their characters and such pleasing chemistry between them that they have the audience rooting for them in no time at all. Irons brings his usual inimitable presence, as does Davis. But it's the two bad girls that make this movie an almost must-see. Rossem is brilliant, with not a trace of the heart-melting belles in "Phantom" or "Day after tomorrow". But the top prize goes to Thompson. She is having a hell of a fun time playing Sarafine, and you would too, watching her.
