Turn of the Screw [DVD]

This is a brave, ambitious attempt to update 'Turn of the Screw' in order to appeal to a modern audience, and though it is unfortunately undone by the occasional poorly written and cliched lines at critical moments, (where they should have trusted the lasting value of James's writing), and an inability to employ the Jamesian subtlety that is so crucial to the story's great ambiguity, it was always going to be a challenging novel to recreate.

There are many areas where it impresses: It largely overcomes the numerous obstacles of translating the book into a film, which is particularly difficult with this novel due to the large focus on the governess's thoughts and consciousness which in a film possibly could become frustrating and monotonous. The film thus brings in other characters to communicate the governess's thoughts through more lively dialogue. The film's depiction of Quint as a lecherous womaniser is an interesting and effective embellishment to James's character, even if it comes at the cost of much of the mystery that surrounds him in the novel. So too by presenting Miss Jessel as a real woman who solicitated Quint's advancements, the film expands her role to mirror the sexual desires we perceive in the governess.

The casting of these character is excellent, and the casting of the children even more so, as they perfectly match the characters presented in the novel, though Miles provides a more obstinate character, without the subtle cunning of his depiction in the novel. Unfortunately, though I feel the film ruins these characters by giving them the profanities of Jessel and Quint's to speak aloud. This imposes several limits upon the film; it becomes harder to see the apparitions as a possible hallucination of the governess when the children voice their profanities, (even if this is merely the governess's imagination). Furthermore, it is a great stretch of the imagination to see such angelic children voicing such profanities at their governess, and massively undoes the subtlety with which James suggests that conspiracy against the governess. Consequently, the children's involvement with the ghosts appears confirmed. Furthermore, despite the fact that the film makes great attempt to communicate to the reader the psychological conundrum at the heart of the novel, (as to whether the ghosts are real or a figment of the governess's imagination,) when the children begin to suddenly echo the ghosts' profanities the reality of the ghosts also seems without doubt; thus the great subtlety which has become the quintessential feature of the novel is almost inexistent in the film.

Finally the setting is wonderful, perfectly selected and wonderfully filmed to bring to life the chilling apparitions with powerful effect. However, yet again the film fails to employ James's subtlety. In the novel Bly is imbued with a "summer sweetness", and to begin with the governess is swept up in joy and love for the children; there is no element of superstition until the governess, and we, are entirely at home in our surroundings. Yet in the film, the first meeting with Flora is layered in suspense and superstition, the house echoing in ghostly whispers, the grounds not peaceful, but deeply unsettling. And why is this important? Because as a result, the film's Bly becomes the 'Other' house of our nightmares, terrifying, but far enough away in our imagination to be but a distant fear. By contrast the novel plays on what Freud would later come to define as the "uncanny", by presenting Bly as a wonderful, home-like residence, and then, once were are settled in with the governess's in her wonderful new life, the horror unveils. Thus, James brings the unhomely ghosts into the home and the result is deeply haunting; we are left with the sense that this story could happen anywhere, in our very own homes. This is what the story lacks, that truly haunting quality that the novel achieves through its subtle references and reinforced ambiguity. It is to conclude, a creative attempt to recreate one of the greatest ghost stories written, but ultimately one which falls far short of the novel's great precedent.

Admittedly, I have not read the original by Henry James, but I was hooked by this BBC adaptation. The story is about a young governess who goes to a house full of women to look after two children, Miles and Flora. Although her new position seems welcoming enough, she soon suspects that there is a history to the house. A history which involves the children in some way...

What I loved about this adaptation is that the answers were not clearly there for the audience. Was the governess mad or was she indeed involved in a haunting? I think you could watch this and easily make a good argument for both. The acting, of course, goes a long way in creating this ambiguity. All performances are excellent, both the children and the adults.

I don't want to say much more than that, I would rather people discover this for themselves. Highly recommended. My only regret - not reading the original beforehand perhaps. Although off the back of this, I shall definitely be checking that out too.

Having seen "The Innocents", the 1961 adaptation of Henry James' "The Turn of the Screw", I couldn't watch this without comparing the two, and this modern interpretation does not come off well in the comparison, in my view. The most glaring problem of this adaptation is its complete inability to appreciate that subtlety and ambiguity are central to the enduring power of James' original novella. This is apparent from the very beginning of the film: thus, as soon as the governess arrives, she is met with hostility from the staff of Bly, for no reason, and it is within minutes of her arrival that the whispering and unexplained noises start. Flora first appears dressed in white, gliding silently into view and staring at the governess from behind without announcing her presence, thus immediately making her a figure of sinister import in a far too explicit manner.

At the same time, though, the governess' mental state is brought into question far earlier and in a far more obvious manner than the original. She is clearly besotted with her employer, and hallucinates his presence on one occasion early in the film. The makers seem worried that viewers will not get the implications of James' story, and make everything explicit, making the story seem muddled rather than ambiguous.

Worst of all, though, in my view, is the interspersion of scenes of the governess with a psychiatrist after her experiences at Bly, where psychology of the most cod variety is applied to suck the life out of the story. She hated her father, we are told, and such, in an attempt to wrap her character up in a neat package, and reducing her to a type, rather than an individual. The facile explanations are at odds with James' approach, and represent a considerable dumbing-down of the material.

In summation, my advice is to give this one a miss, and watch "The Innocents" instead, a seriously chilling film that strikes an effective balance between exposition and suggestion, and is one of the best cinematic ghost stories ever.