The Woman in Black (2012) James Watkins
A Post-Potter Daniel Radcliffe plays widower Arthur Kipps in this scary adaptation of Susan Hill’s novel.
Remember Ghost Train’s at funfairs? You pay your fee, you take the ride, you jump and scream at the various gimmicks that jump out and inevitably laugh about it all once you complete your journey, before immediately forgetting the whole experience when something else comes along. In case you hadn’t guessed, that is an analogy for this fright fest of a picture.
Despite looking too young for the role, Radcliffe is suitably cast as Kipps, a lawyer forced to prove himself by sorting paper work in a spooky old house. Things a
ppear strange from the minute Kipp steps off the train in a small Yorkshire town. The townsfolk are in a state of trauma due to the mysterious accidents and suicides that their children are involved in. Kipp becomes involved after an encounter with the woman in black, a spectral figure who is causing all this death and destruction.
Ignore the 12a certificate; regardless of age, you will be suitably frightened thanks to the films surprisingly intense atmosphere and frequently sustained suspense sequences. Watkins expertly manipulates our senses, using classic horror icons such as creepy dolls, creaky floors and sudden bangs. Radcliffe is the king of the ‘reaction shot’, having r
esponded to CGI in the Harry Potter series for the last ten years, and you’ll believe the fear he shows as he creeps around the house silently for large sections of the film.
When the film isn’t trying to scare you, it keeps its dark, brooding atmosphere but lacks surprises. The plot is a simple affair and only really serves a purpose to link a series of suspenseful set pieces. That is except the ending, which manages to be both sentimental and rather macabre.
See this at the cinema for maximum enjoyment, as without the atmosphere and scares there is little else to this film, but it succeeds in what it sets out to achieve, to spook us.
****
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2012, Stephen Daldry)
What seemed like a sure fire Oscar contender, Daldry’s exploration of 9/11 trauma through the eyes of a young autistic boy, has been met with great hostility amongst the critics. This is largely due its implausibility and over simplification of the most significant event for the Western World this century.
However, this isn’t really an attempt to provide the audience with post 9/11 catharsis, instead it is a fairy tale/fable about a young boy trying to understand and accept the loss of his father. Using autism to explore complex events isn’t new, and in fact the Bollywood film ‘My Name is Kahn’ also using an autistic protagonist to explore America’s response to 9/11. As in that film, the young boy’s attempt to find a lock for his father’s key in an attempt to hold onto his memory, allows the audience to take a detached and child-like view on 9/11. This has its problems but serves the plot well.
The film itself is interesting, but not believable, as a 9-year-old boy wit Asperger’s travels Manhattan trying to find a person to whom the key belongs. The most interesting part of the film is when Oskar, the boy in question, gains a silent travelling companion. Expertly played by Max Von Sydow, he is a character known only as ‘the lodger’ who has made a choice not to speak. We never find out, in detail, the reason behind his choices, which is one of the many unanswered questions found within the films narrative.
It is too small scale and personal to explore 9/11 trauma, but it’s themes of loss, trauma and hope will speak to most audience members. As Oskar replays his Father’s final voicemail messages from the World Trade Center, trying to make some sense out of the catastrophe, and ashamed at his own response and cowardice, it is impossible not to be moved and appreciate the allegory. A surprisingly effective picture, if not taken too literally.
***1/2
The Vow (2012, Michael Sucsy)
Poor Rachel McAdams, she is always forgetting the love of her life. In The Notebook she suffered from dementia, and in her latest offering she’s gone and got amnesia. Just like the former and better film, this plot device allowed the screenwriters to present a series of flashbacks showing how our young couple met and fell in love in sickly sweet fashion.
This film partially succeeds thanks to two great performances by McAdams and Channing Tatum. Tatum in particular is excellent, but let down by his unrealistic, impossibly patient and warm character. After a nasty car crash McAdams character, Paige awakens to find she cannot recall the last five years of her life. As far as she is concerned she is still engaged to her ex-fiancé, and cannot recall why her life has changed so drastically (she is a law school drop out turned bohemian artist.)
The film lacks comedy, and heartache. Tatum, playing Paige’s husband Leo, rarely loses his temper or gives up hope and instead sacrifices everything to get his remind his wife why she fell in love with him. Maybe I’m a pessimist, but his constant good nature is unrelenting, ruining any realism, and indeed any drama.
However, it turns out the film is based on true events, so people like that must exists. Good for them!
**
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