The Turn of the Screw (1999)

Perfect cast and a good story

Awesome Movie

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

A wonderful screen adaptation of Henry James ghost story. There are a fair few versions of the story both direct and oblique (a recent, successful version was The Others with Nicole Kidman). This film manages capably the understated, romantic sweep and lyricism in Henry James prose with the shocks and insidiousness that are also hidden within.Colin Firth, who was something of a superstar at the time, may only appear briefly as a mature Byronic patriarch at the beginning but it's all he needs to give the whole enterprise a sense of privation, melancholy and sexual charge. Consequently there's always the possibility that the Governess ('Miss' in this version) is projecting her own sexual longing into spaces rather than actually seeing sexually malign spectres. Johdi May nurtures this potential but in a straightforward performance of power without melodrama. It's all pretty creepy and engrossing. 7/10

A fairly faithful adaptation of Henry James' story of malevolent innocence and evil. Although some scenes lagged in appropriately constructing the atmospheric richness present in the novella - the film adaptation stays true to the building of character, as the secrets of Bly become apparent. Jodhi May certainly delivers an unrelenting, powerful and convincing performance as the disordered governess. She made this film worth watching. A brilliant acting talent. The rest of the cast give an average performance - which was quite a let down on my part. Nevertheless, a film to look out for if your a fan of James' work and appreciate period drama. Or in this case a good old fashioned thriller.Film Rating: 7/10

Henry James wrote, perhaps the most famous ghost story in the world: The Turn of the Screw.The suggestion in the book is that the governess might be having hallucinations brought on by sexual hysteria, OR she might, indeed be caught between the living children under her care, and the dead lovers who communicate with each other through the children. Benjamin Britten wrote an opera that is absolutely bone-chilling called The Turn of the Screw. Many films have also been made either called The Turn of the Screw or, in a brilliant adaptation, The Innocence.In The Innocence, Sir Michael Redgrave is the owner of Blye and the person who hires Deborah Kerr to be in complete charge of his niece and nephew.In this new Masterpiece Theater adaptation, called The Turn of the Screw, Colin Firth plays The Master of Blye who hires Jodi May as governess.Redgrave is older, detached and uninterested in the workings and daily problems of Blye and simply wants someone to run things for him.Firth is young and VERY sexy. So much so, that he uses his sexuality to convince a naive and hesitant May to take the position.This sexual attraction, on May's part, is underlined with a scene where she enters The Master's bedroom at Blye, and touches his clothes.But the haunting of Peter Quint and Miss Jessel are presented as VERY real, and very threatening.What is merely suggested in the older Kerr version, is played out with more emphasis in this Masterpiece Theater version.The sets are lush. The setting beautiful. The children too perfect. Flora is smug and deceptive. Niles is heart-breaking in his corruption.The question remains. Was the governess mad or was she overwhelmed by the evil of Peter Quint? Were the children possessed or was the governess?An excellent version, although there are scenes in the Kerr version that are truly jolting.

I enjoyed to see the young womans convincing efforts to protect and take care of the children. She was very focussed, both the movie character and the actress.The clear and precise english language added extra value to the movie.