The Hole (2001 film)
Encyclopedia
The Hole is a 2001
psychological thriller
film directed by Nick Hamm, based on the novel After the Hole
by Guy Burt
.
The film starred Thora Birch
, whose headlining credit and highly-publicized seven-figure salary was attributed to her appearance in American Beauty. It also featured Keira Knightley
, in her first significant role in a feature film
.
The film premiered in the United Kingdom
in April 2001. Dimension Films
, which in October 2001 acquired the rights to distribute the film theatrically in the United States
, never did so; it was instead released direct-to-video
nearly two years later, by Dimension's then-fellow Disney subsidiary Buena Vista Distribution
. The film was shot largely in and around Downside School
, in Somerset
, UK, with some scenes shot at Reading Blue Coat School
in Reading
, UK and others filmed at The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe
in High Wycombe
, UK.
), Geoff (Laurence Fox
), and Frankie (Keira Knightley
), who have been missing for 18 days. Liz is interviewed by a psychiatrist (Embeth Davidtz
) and describes what has happened to the four.
Liz describes to the psychiatrist how she told Martyn (Daniel Brocklebank
) about her unrequited love for Mike; Martyn promised to help, as he and Liz were best friends. Martyn took his four classmates, musician's son Mike, his best friend Geoff, Liz and popular girl Frankie to an abandoned, underground shelter
, where they decided to stay in order to avoid a school field trip. The four students climbed into the shelter, Mike reluctantly, and Martyn locked the door shut.
When Martyn was due to release them, the locked-in students belatedly realized they were trapped and began to turn on each other. Then they discovered that Martyn had hidden microphones in the shelter. Voice-acting, Frankie pretended to be sick, while Mike and Liz pretended to hate each other because Liz had said that this was what Martyn wanted – he had been in love with Liz "since we were eleven". The plan apparently worked, as one morning they woke up and the hatch was open. They all climbed out, and Liz described how Mike hugged her, thanking her for saving them.
However, soon after Liz finishes her story, the psychiatrist tells someone on the phone that she does not believe Liz's story, while Liz waves happily to her from the window behind her.
Martyn has been taken into custody for questioning in regards to Liz's story and the psychiatrist brings Liz back to her home. Martyn begins telling the police a completely different story – he claims that it was Liz and Frankie who orchestrated the whole thing so that Liz could get close to Mike, and Frankie could spend time with Geoff. The police are forced to release Martyn, despite their belief he is guilty, because they can find no evidence. In the meantime, Liz is experiencing flashbacks of the true events in the hole. Martyn comes to see her, angry and distraught that she has framed him. She runs from him through the garden and approaches a weir. Martyn cries, and Liz hysterically says that she knew they would let him go because they could not prove anything; she strokes his neck, but what happens next is not revealed.
At their next meeting, Liz tells the psychiatrist that she cannot remember what happened, however hard she tries. The psychiatrist is persuaded to take Liz back to the hole. Once they are both down the hatch, the truth comes out: Liz herself had in fact locked herself and her comrades in as a last-minute change to an adolescent plan to win Mike's affection – a spontaneous response to the realization that both Geoff and Mike were attracted to Frankie and had both made out with her. Her obsession with Mike led Liz to believe that, with time, she could win him over, and that locking the door bought her time. Their sojourn in the bunker was initially meant to be a booze and drug party, but when they realized that they could not get out anymore, the mood quickly turned sour. Frankie soon ended up dead from side effects of her bulimia
.
The remaining three gradually ran out of food and water. Liz was privately trying to tell Mike that she had the key, when it turned out that Geoff was hoarding Cola
in his bag. Mike killed Geoff in an uncontrollable outburst of violence by smashing his head against the concrete floor. Reduced to two, Liz suggested a suicide pact, whereupon Mike professed his love for Liz. This prompted Liz to climb the ladder towards the shelter's entrance and unlock the door. Perched on a landing high above the shelter's floor, told Mike she'd had the key all along; she had done it all for him. Mike, overwhelmed by the events of the past few days, angrily rushed up the ladder towards her, but the ladder broke and Mike fell to his death, impaled by the broken metal.
The film then cuts back to Liz and the psychiatrist, Liz concluding that since Mike is dead, he can never leave her. The body of Martyn is fished from the river where he had previously chased Liz and it is revealed that Liz murdered him. The police then arrive at the bunker and Liz begins screaming for help as if the doctor was trying to hurt her.
In the end, Liz is allowed to go free, sitting in the back of an ambulance, smiling at the doctor as the paramedics wheel Martyn's body away.
2001 in film
The year 2001 in film involved some significant events, including the first of the Harry Potter series and also the first of The Lord of the Rings trilogy...
psychological thriller
Psychological thriller
Psychological thriller is a specific sub-genre of the broad ranged thriller with heavy focus on characters. However, it often incorporates elements from the mystery and drama genre, along with the typical traits of the thriller genre...
film directed by Nick Hamm, based on the novel After the Hole
After the Hole
After the Hole is a psychological horror novel by Guy Burt, which was the basis for the 2001 film The Hole. It won a Betty Trask Award in 1994.-Plot summary:...
by Guy Burt
Guy Burt
Guy Burt is an English author, best known for his 1993 debut novel, After the Hole, a psychological horror story about a group of private school students trapped in an underground bunker, seemingly locked in by a deranged, sociopathic classmate...
.
The film starred Thora Birch
Thora Birch
Thora Birch is an American actress. She was a child actor in the 1990s, starring in movies such as All I Want for Christmas , Patriot Games , Hocus Pocus , Now and Then , and Alaska . She came to prominence in 1999 after earning worldwide attention and praise for her performance in American Beauty...
, whose headlining credit and highly-publicized seven-figure salary was attributed to her appearance in American Beauty. It also featured Keira Knightley
Keira Knightley
Keira Christina Knightley born 26 March 1985) is an English actress and model. She began acting as a child and came to international notice in 2002 after co-starring in the film Bend It Like Beckham...
, in her first significant role in a feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
.
The film premiered in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in April 2001. Dimension Films
Dimension Films
Dimension Films is a motion picture unit currently a part of The Weinstein Company. It was formerly used as Bob Weinstein's label within Miramax Films, to produce and release genre films...
, which in October 2001 acquired the rights to distribute the film theatrically in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, never did so; it was instead released direct-to-video
Direct-to-video
Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...
nearly two years later, by Dimension's then-fellow Disney subsidiary Buena Vista Distribution
Buena Vista Distribution
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures is a motion picture and television feature distribution company owned by Disney Enterprises, Inc. Buena Vista International was the international distribution arm, Buena Vista Home Entertainment was the firm's video and DVD distribution arm, and Buena Vista...
. The film was shot largely in and around Downside School
Downside School
Downside School is a co-educational Catholic independent school for children aged 11 to 18, located in Stratton-on-the-Fosse, between Norton Radstock and Shepton Mallet in Somerset, south west England. It is attached to Downside Abbey...
, in Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, UK, with some scenes shot at Reading Blue Coat School
Reading Blue Coat School
Reading Blue Coat School is a boys' independent school in Holme Park in the village of Sonning, in the English county of Berkshire, to the east of the town of Reading...
in Reading
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
, UK and others filmed at The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe
Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe
See Royal Grammar School for the other schools with the name RGS.The Royal Grammar School High Wycombe is a selective grammar school situated in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. As a state school it does not charge fees for students to attend, but they must pass an entrance exam...
in High Wycombe
High Wycombe
High Wycombe , commonly known as Wycombe and formally called Chepping Wycombe or Chipping Wycombe until 1946,is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is west-north-west of Charing Cross in London; this figure is engraved on the Corn Market building in the centre of the town...
, UK.
Plot
The film opens with the appearance of a dishevelled Liz, one of four private school pupils, also including Mike (Desmond HarringtonDesmond Harrington
Desmond Harrington is an American actor. He is known for movies such as The Hole, Wrong Turn and Ghost Ship. He joined the cast of the Showtime series Dexter in its third season as Det. Joseph Quinn.-Life and career:...
), Geoff (Laurence Fox
Laurence Fox
Laurence Fox is an English actor best known for his leading role as Detective Sergeant James Hathaway in the British TV drama series Lewis...
), and Frankie (Keira Knightley
Keira Knightley
Keira Christina Knightley born 26 March 1985) is an English actress and model. She began acting as a child and came to international notice in 2002 after co-starring in the film Bend It Like Beckham...
), who have been missing for 18 days. Liz is interviewed by a psychiatrist (Embeth Davidtz
Embeth Davidtz
Embeth Jean Davidtz is an American-born actress who spent much of her early life in South Africa.-Early life:Davidtz was born in Lafayette, Indiana, while her father was studying chemical engineering at Purdue University. Her parents, John and Jean, later moved to Trenton, New Jersey, and then...
) and describes what has happened to the four.
Liz describes to the psychiatrist how she told Martyn (Daniel Brocklebank
Daniel Brocklebank
Daniel Brocklebank is an award-winning British actor. He received a Screen Actors Guild Award for his performance in the multi-award–winning movie Shakespeare in Love...
) about her unrequited love for Mike; Martyn promised to help, as he and Liz were best friends. Martyn took his four classmates, musician's son Mike, his best friend Geoff, Liz and popular girl Frankie to an abandoned, underground shelter
Air-raid shelter
Air-raid shelters, also known as bomb shelters, are structures for the protection of the civil population as well as military personnel against enemy attacks from the air...
, where they decided to stay in order to avoid a school field trip. The four students climbed into the shelter, Mike reluctantly, and Martyn locked the door shut.
When Martyn was due to release them, the locked-in students belatedly realized they were trapped and began to turn on each other. Then they discovered that Martyn had hidden microphones in the shelter. Voice-acting, Frankie pretended to be sick, while Mike and Liz pretended to hate each other because Liz had said that this was what Martyn wanted – he had been in love with Liz "since we were eleven". The plan apparently worked, as one morning they woke up and the hatch was open. They all climbed out, and Liz described how Mike hugged her, thanking her for saving them.
However, soon after Liz finishes her story, the psychiatrist tells someone on the phone that she does not believe Liz's story, while Liz waves happily to her from the window behind her.
Martyn has been taken into custody for questioning in regards to Liz's story and the psychiatrist brings Liz back to her home. Martyn begins telling the police a completely different story – he claims that it was Liz and Frankie who orchestrated the whole thing so that Liz could get close to Mike, and Frankie could spend time with Geoff. The police are forced to release Martyn, despite their belief he is guilty, because they can find no evidence. In the meantime, Liz is experiencing flashbacks of the true events in the hole. Martyn comes to see her, angry and distraught that she has framed him. She runs from him through the garden and approaches a weir. Martyn cries, and Liz hysterically says that she knew they would let him go because they could not prove anything; she strokes his neck, but what happens next is not revealed.
At their next meeting, Liz tells the psychiatrist that she cannot remember what happened, however hard she tries. The psychiatrist is persuaded to take Liz back to the hole. Once they are both down the hatch, the truth comes out: Liz herself had in fact locked herself and her comrades in as a last-minute change to an adolescent plan to win Mike's affection – a spontaneous response to the realization that both Geoff and Mike were attracted to Frankie and had both made out with her. Her obsession with Mike led Liz to believe that, with time, she could win him over, and that locking the door bought her time. Their sojourn in the bunker was initially meant to be a booze and drug party, but when they realized that they could not get out anymore, the mood quickly turned sour. Frankie soon ended up dead from side effects of her bulimia
Bulimia nervosa
Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating and purging or consuming a large amount of food in a short amount of time, followed by an attempt to rid oneself of the food consumed, usually by purging and/or by laxative, diuretics or excessive exercise. Bulimia nervosa is...
.
The remaining three gradually ran out of food and water. Liz was privately trying to tell Mike that she had the key, when it turned out that Geoff was hoarding Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
in his bag. Mike killed Geoff in an uncontrollable outburst of violence by smashing his head against the concrete floor. Reduced to two, Liz suggested a suicide pact, whereupon Mike professed his love for Liz. This prompted Liz to climb the ladder towards the shelter's entrance and unlock the door. Perched on a landing high above the shelter's floor, told Mike she'd had the key all along; she had done it all for him. Mike, overwhelmed by the events of the past few days, angrily rushed up the ladder towards her, but the ladder broke and Mike fell to his death, impaled by the broken metal.
The film then cuts back to Liz and the psychiatrist, Liz concluding that since Mike is dead, he can never leave her. The body of Martyn is fished from the river where he had previously chased Liz and it is revealed that Liz murdered him. The police then arrive at the bunker and Liz begins screaming for help as if the doctor was trying to hurt her.
In the end, Liz is allowed to go free, sitting in the back of an ambulance, smiling at the doctor as the paramedics wheel Martyn's body away.
Cast
- Thora BirchThora BirchThora Birch is an American actress. She was a child actor in the 1990s, starring in movies such as All I Want for Christmas , Patriot Games , Hocus Pocus , Now and Then , and Alaska . She came to prominence in 1999 after earning worldwide attention and praise for her performance in American Beauty...
– Elizabeth 'Liz' Dunn - Keira KnightleyKeira KnightleyKeira Christina Knightley born 26 March 1985) is an English actress and model. She began acting as a child and came to international notice in 2002 after co-starring in the film Bend It Like Beckham...
– Frances 'Frankie' Almond Smith - Desmond HarringtonDesmond HarringtonDesmond Harrington is an American actor. He is known for movies such as The Hole, Wrong Turn and Ghost Ship. He joined the cast of the Showtime series Dexter in its third season as Det. Joseph Quinn.-Life and career:...
– Michael 'Mike' Steel - Laurence FoxLaurence FoxLaurence Fox is an English actor best known for his leading role as Detective Sergeant James Hathaway in the British TV drama series Lewis...
– Geoffrey 'Geoff' Bingham - Daniel BrocklebankDaniel BrocklebankDaniel Brocklebank is an award-winning British actor. He received a Screen Actors Guild Award for his performance in the multi-award–winning movie Shakespeare in Love...
– Martyn Taylor - Embeth DavidtzEmbeth DavidtzEmbeth Jean Davidtz is an American-born actress who spent much of her early life in South Africa.-Early life:Davidtz was born in Lafayette, Indiana, while her father was studying chemical engineering at Purdue University. Her parents, John and Jean, later moved to Trenton, New Jersey, and then...
– Dr. Philippa Horwood - Steven WaddingtonSteven WaddingtonSteven Waddington is an English actor who is probably best known for his supporting role in Michael Mann's The Last of the Mohicans. He trained at East 15 Acting School in Loughton Essex. His first film role was as the eponymous king in Derek Jarman's Edward II...
– DCS Tom Howard - Kelly Hunter – DI Chapman
- Anastasia HilleAnastasia HilleAnastasia Hille is an English actress active in British television, theatre, and film.Hille was a student at Drama Centre . She was nominated for the Ian Charleson Awards in 1994.-Television:...
– Forensic Pathologist Gillian - Austin Woodin – Guy who breaks up the fight on the playing fields.