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      The Turn of the Screw

      1999 1h 40m Mystery & Thriller List
      Reviews 39% 250+ Ratings Audience Score A governess (Jodhi May) and two children see ghosts in a house where two employees mysteriously died. Read More Read Less

      Audience Reviews

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      martin j A fine retelling of this classic with some truly chilling moments. Joe Sowerbutts is memorable as "Miles". Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Though some of the scenes could use a bit more polish, and a lengthier production could have better drawn out the story, Jodhi May's performance is nonpareil. Her ability to convey fear, confusion, and precipitous teetering on insanity make this production well worthwhile. Colin Firth as the Master is a nice touch but really the bulk of the production rests in May's excellent delivery. Henry James great work is hard to transfer to the screen since so much of the nuance lies in the method of narration, word choice, and room for doubt. Is this an experience of the supernatural? child abuse? sexual repression? or just madness igniting over a perceived evil? In this production the restraint and pacing preserves the ambiguity very well, allowing the audience to sympathize with the governess, experience terror and panic with her, even feel horror at what she may or may not see and what it drives her to do, but ultimately prevents the viewer from judging her doom with any certainty. That's good cinema. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review Audience Member A creepy re-telling of a classic ghost story! While it may be hard for any adaption to outshine 'The Innocents' this masterpiece theater version comes very close! Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member A psychological thriller in which a new governess sees ghosts and vows to protect her charges from their plots and corruptions. The score was a little overpowering at times, as if trying to make up for a lack of acting ability, but that wasn't really the case. The cast was good, the movie suspenseful and interesting, and now I have only to read the book to see how well it followed it. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/15/23 Full Review Audience Member After reading some other reviews, it seems I'm not the only one who thought this didn't make much sense. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member It was better than I expected, although not great. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      The Turn of the Screw

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      Critics Reviews

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      Walter Goodman New York Times Despite the periodic scenes of the unstable governess running around the stately mansion bearing a candle that does little to lighten the gloomy staircase and corridors, the apparitions or ghosts are not particularly spooky... Nov 30, 2017 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis A governess (Jodhi May) and two children see ghosts in a house where two employees mysteriously died.
      Director
      Ben Bolt
      Producer
      Michele Buck, Rebecca Eaton, Tim Vaughan
      Screenwriter
      Nick Dear
      Genre
      Mystery & Thriller
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (DVD)
      Apr 20, 2004
      Runtime
      1h 40m
      Sound Mix
      Dolby SR