“The Lookouts” by Ishana Shyamalan is currently in theaters. Did you understand the message of this thriller? The director explains to us what she wanted to show with her film.
In The Watchers, Mina, played by Dakota Fanning, finds refuge in a house already occupied by three people after getting lost in the forest. She will then discover the rules of this very secret place: every night, the inhabitants must allow themselves to be observed by the mysterious occupants of this forest. They can’t see them, but they watch everything.
For her first film as a director, Ishana Shyamalan, the daughter of M. Night Shyamalan, adapts the suspense novel by AM Shine. A book which fascinated her when it was discovered and which she quickly decided to adapt for the cinema.
Being seen without seeing those who observe us… This is the theme of this modern thriller which draws, from the start, a parallel with reality TV shows, in particular with the one broadcast in the bunker. During our meeting with the film team, actress Dakota Fanning makes the link between the subject of the film and social networks. “I really liked this parallel and this metaphor in the film, not only as a star, but I think in general we all face this. People put their lives online on social media.
Warner Bros. The Watchers
I myself watch the morning routines of people I don’t even know on Instagram. So I think we all wonder about what privacy is and whether it exists, what we look at and what is shown of us… So I felt concerned by this idea. Of course, I’ve had a particular version of this throughout my life. But I think everyone has a version of it in the times we live in.”
The judgment at the heart of the film
For Ishana Shyamalan, the main subject of the film is the fear of judgment. The latter explains to us: “The theme of the film for me, and the fear I was exploring, was that of judgment. It’s sort of like an allegory for how I think judgment is present in our modern society. It’s about this character’s journey as he comes to terms with the darkest parts of his personality, literally and symbolically, and is forced to look at himself through the eyes of judgment. So that’s the story for me. I think it contains elements that can affect everyone. But that’s what it means to me. For the spectators it will perhaps be something else.”
You will have understood, the real theme of Watchers is judgment, that which others pass on us but also and above all the judgment we pass on ourselves and which sometimes can prevent us from moving forward.
The Watchers is currently in theaters.
