movie review about the woman in black

The Woman in Black is as traditional a ghost story as is likely to be found in today's marketplace. All the elements are in place: an isolated, gothic mansion on the moors, mysterious deaths, a graveyard, an apparition in black whose appearances coincide with tragedies, frightened villagers, and long-buried secrets. All of this takes place in Victorian England, where superstition often trumps reason. There are also no postmodern aspects to this tale. The house is haunted; it's not potentially all in the mind of the protagonist. There are ghosts and, quite often, they are unfriendly. The title (taken from Susan Hill's novel) evokes Wilkie Collins' The Woman in White but, in this case, the elusive figure in the mists is garbed in black. Some story elements echo Dracula. Director James Watkins wrings maximum atmosphere from his sets; The Woman in Black oozes creepiness and some of the scares pack more punch than the typical "boo!" moments. During one lengthy sequence in which Daniel Radcliffe's character executes a meticulous search of the haunted mansion by candlelight, there's a repetitive cycle in which the sense of dread builds to an almost unbearable level only to be released by a shock before the whole thing starts over again. Radcliffe plays Arthur Kipps, a London-based solicitor with a four-year old son whose career has been in a tailspin since the death of his wife in childbirth. His firm has given him a last chance - travel to the out-of-the-way estate of the late Mrs. Alice Drablow, Eel Marsh House, and settle her affairs. In the town of Crythin Gifford, Arthur is met with naked hostility by the residents and pleas for him not to travel the lonely road to the house. Among the locals, only the progressive couple of Sam and Elizabeth Daily (Ciaran Hinds and Janet McTeer) greet Arthur with warmth and offer help. Upon arriving at Eel Marsh House, Arthur's beliefs in what is possible are challenged as a series of unnatural occurrences plagues him - whispers in the dark, a rocking chair that moves without prompting, music boxes that play without being wound, and the mysterious Woman in Black who appears as a harbinger of doom. From a marketing standpoint, the casting of Daniel Radcliffe is a coup; it has elevated the profile of what might otherwise be an obscure release to that of a potential mainstream hit. However, in some ways, Radcliffe seems ill-suited for the part. He appears too young and his dramatic chops, despite having been honed during a decade growing up as Harry Potter, are questionable. His screen presence is less imposing than that of his co-stars, Ciaran Hinds and Janet McTeer, both of whom command the camera's attention while on-screen. Hinds is working on his second ghost story in a few years (the previous one being The Eclipse - no relationship to the film about sparkling vampires). His brooding persona is perfect for this sort of production - he exudes the confidence and reliability that provides viewers with an anchor. As for Radcliffe, he does a workmanlike job conveying world-weariness, even if the mood is in contrast with his youthful appearance. However, this is not a character-based piece. The star's job description is that he be able to react convincingly to a variety of supernatural events and to endure being covered in mud. He has difficulty with neither. The film ends on a note that could best be described as "bittersweet." It certainly isn't a conventional happy ending, yet it offers more lightness and hope than the previous 90 minutes. In short, it's the perfect way to conclude the movie, even if it makes most of what precedes it feel a little irrelevant. There's a definite sense of closure and, even though there's a little bit of a twist, it's hard to imagine even the most inattentive viewer not "getting it." Watkins stacks the deck by tinkering with the look of the film during its waning moments. This is the second feature for the director, who made his debut with 2008's Eden Lake, a horror movie starring Michael Fassbender and Kelly Reilly. The genre holds an obvious fascination for Watkins, which is welcome, since he's excellent at bringing it to the screen. This is one of the creepiest PG-13 movies I have recently seen. The production company is Hammer Films, a venerable name in British horror. Responsible for some of the best monster movies of the '50s and '60s, when Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee were a favorite team, Hammer has endured over the years. Now, as then, the Hammer name is an assurance that terror, not soulless special effects, lies at the heart of the production. The Woman in Black bears this out.

report the vow

When it comes to romantic movies there's no denying director Nick Cassavetes set the bar pretty high with The Notebook. While men may roll their eyes at the thought of snuggling up on the couch to watch Ryan Gosling row Rachel McAdams in a boat across a river amid hundreds of swans there are few women for whom the Nicholas Sparks adaptation doesn't appear in their top 10 all-time weepies. Well, ladies, here's another to add to the list - The Vow, about a newlywed couple recovering from a car accident one snowy night that leaves wife Paige with severe amnesia. When Paige (McAdams again, proving she's the go-to girl for romantic dramas) wakes up from her coma, not only does she not recognise her husband, Leo (Channing Tatum), her last memory is of being engaged to another man, hot-shot attorney Jeremy (Scott Speedman). While his wife tries to remember why she is estranged from her parents (played by Sam Neill and Jessica Lange) and has dropped out of university and a promising career in law to become an artist, Leo goes to great lengths to reboot his relationship with his one true love. But when his best efforts to make his wife fall in love with him again appear fruitless, he is forced to confront the very real possibility of having to let go and move on with his life. It's wouldn't be far off the mark to say Michael Sucsy's debut feature is a kind of mashup of The Notebook and the Adam Sandler romantic comedy 50 First Dates. But there's something a bit different about The Vow, a film loosely based on the story of real-life US couple Kim Carpenter and his wife, Krickitt. While not devastatingly sad, nor particularly funny, the less-than-formulaic plot ensures those who are not aware of the Carpenters' story never quite know how the couple's relationship is going to pan out. There is an underlying sweetness to the film, thanks largely to the chemistry shared by McAdams and Tatum, who between them light up the screen. The pair are so convincing we are able to overlook the weaknesses in the lopsided narrative - not to mention the few too many corny exchanges - and commit to The Vow.

movie review about atonement

This year has been rife with cash-in sequels and inferior remakes. Sure, Transformers was fun. Okay, so Shoot ‘Em Up made me bounce up and down like a giddy child with it’s over the top absurdity. But occasionally you feel that, even though these big dumb action movies are fun, after the hundredth movie where the plot exists solely to provide a link from set-piece A to set-piece B, you start to wonder if the art and the storytelling of cinema has gone down the pan. Flashy, over the top music video directors are all the rage, but they’re all visuals. They come across as having no concept of how to tell a real story or how to present characters that aren’t stereotypes. With his second movie Atonement, and at only 35 years of age, British newcomer Joe Wright strides confidently on to the scene and makes the like of Zack Snyder and Brett Ratner look like they learned their craft from a “For Dummies” book. Briony Tallis is a highly talented 13 year old daughter of a well to do family in pre-WWII England. While her cousins want to go swimming in the lake, she wants them to help put on a performance of her latest play. However, with this talent comes a feverishly overactive imagination. When she sees an incident between her elder sister Cecilia (Knightley) and servant’s son Robbie (McAvoy) on a hot summer’s day, her immature imagination misconstrues an awkward flirtation as something darker. Briony’s imagination continues to twist events throughout that day with terrible consequences.

Atonement might possibly qualify as one of the most visually stunning films of the year. Wright doesn’t use shaky-cam or the hyperactive editing common of his young directorial peers. In fact, where other directors seem determined to blind and overload your senses, Wright slams on the brakes. His previous movie Pride and Prejudice was a visually impressive film in itself, but for Atonement he brings his A-game. There are many moments which wow but one scene in particular, a 5 minute single-take steadicam shot, is stunning not only for its immaculate choreography but also a bizarre detached quality which adds to the interpretation of how the character we are following feels. Despite his young years Wright comes across as a more mature director of the old school than a Hollywood-chasing, MTV-alumni. Like fellow Brit director Ridley Scott he tells his story both through visuals and narrative. He makes the two work hand in hand. This is a darker, downbeat, more mature tale than Austin’s fluffy romance and Wright adjusts his handling of it accordingly. He goes out of his way to establish mood, using slow deliberate shots and never rushing to get to the next scene, even if it might be more important to the story. But this narrative pace suits the tale and it never feels as if it’s dragging its heels. Wright wants you to care about the main characters, to understand what they are going through, so that if and when things go wrong, you care. You feel. You understand. They aren’t stereotypes, they aren’t caricatures, they are people. And that makes anything they go through all the more real and relatable and powerful. It’s refreshing to see a movie not pushing you around urging you to keep up with a freight-train rush to the finale and more interested in the people than the set-pieces around them. That attention to detail is such that even sound plays a huge part in Atonement. The sound editing is heightened to the point that you can hear every little noise from an incessant fly buzzing to Cecila taking a drag off her cigarette. Sounds within the movie also become seamlessly incorporated in to Dario Marianelli’s score in a surreal yet effective way. It all helps come together to give Atonement a sometimes almost dreamlike quality apt to the movie’s tone and themes. None of the actors can be faulted. McAvoy is charming and likeable as the lowly servant’s son with ambitions in life and a pining for his lost love, Cecilia. With roles like this and his turn in The Last King of Scotland, McAvoy is slowly building himself a resume of great performances and is surely another talent to watch in the coming years. The always unpredictable but always stunning Keira Knightley proves that when the director is more interested in the characters than the special effects she can put in a good performance. As the bored elder Tallis she successfully captures differing sides to Celila which emerge as the story progresses. McAvoy and Knightley also work well together on-screen. They capture perfectly a repressed desire for each other that eventually has to boil over. Even young Saoirse Ronan handles herself well as young Briony, whose talent for writing may be more mature than most but is ultimately still a naïve young girl, not yet privy to the workings of adult life. Her strong performance makes it easy to see why Peter Jackson has cast her in the even more challenging lead role of his adaptation of The Lovely Bones. All the leads are propped up by a strong supporting cast of knowns and unknowns who cannot be faulted. Atonement is a film about love against the odds. But it is also a film about the power and danger of a lie. It’s impossible not to be moved by it, even if like me, you usually approach war-time period dramas with the kind of anti-enthusiam usually reserved only for an Uwe Boll movie.