The Woman In Black

• Director: James Watkins
• Screenwriter/Written By: Jane Goldman
• Based on the Novel By: Susan Hill
• Starring: Ciarán Hinds, Daniel Radcliffe, Janet McTeer, Misha Handley, Sophie Stuckey
• Running Time: 94 mins.
• Language: English
• Rating: PG-13

If you are at all curious about Hogwart’s most famous alumnus Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), you may want to check out his performance in The Woman in Black, set in Victorian era England. Radcliffe plays young father and grieving widower Arthur Kipps, a cash strapped solicitor, who is sent to a remote village to sort out the affairs of recently deceased Alice Drablow.  There he experiences firsthand the woman in black, a ghost seeking vengeance and reeking terror upon all the inhabitants of the town.

Accepting Radcliffe in the role of a father with a four-year old son may be  a stretch for some of his fans. Cognizant of this hurdle, he requested that his  godson be cast to ensure for on-screen chemistry. Misha Handley as Joseph Kipps is endearing, and the affection between them is palpable. Overall, Radcliffe remains easy on the eyes and naturally affable, and he does credible service in his newest role, stretching ever so subtly the boundaries of his audience’s tolerance. Ciarán Hinds (Deathly Hallows Part 2, The Eclipse) plays Samuel Daily, Arthur’s skeptical ally, and Janet McTeer (Albert Nobbs) serves up a chilling stand-out performance as the deranged by grief, Mrs. Daily.

The Woman in Black is an old-fashioned ghost story, much in the vein of The Haunting. It delivers jumps, blood-curdling shrieks, very little actual blood, in a mesmerizingly evocative landscape. Eel Marsh House, the cursed mansion at the center of this tale, is set at the end of a long causeway that can only be reached during low tide. Filming took place near Osea Island in Essex, England, and the damp chill of the mists and marshes is palpable in the stylish cinematography by Tim Maurice-Jones.

The screenplay by Jane Goldman (Kick Ass, X-Men: First Class) is based on the 1983 ghost story by Susan Hill (which also provided a basis for the long-running West End theatrical sensation). The set-up in the film is terrific: three somnambulists march to their deaths, little girls insentiently crushing the heads of their dolls; it is a frame that perfectly encapsulates the terror at the heart of this nightmare. Each and every scene with the children, and particularly, the scene in the-house-on-fire, haunts. The final twist at the end of The Woman in Black is satisfying, as well as, beautifully shot and edited.

It is in the middle of The Woman in Black, with Arthur stuck in that house, that things get a bit “bogged-down.” He does less piecing together of clues, more merely reacting. The production team goes into overdrive to wring every possible trick out from their environment by way of compensation. An assortment of 19^th Century wind-up toys are made to appear animate; a timeworn idea, albeit done right with a curious collection of props.  All members of the team deliver, under the capable stewardship of director James Watkins (Eden Lake).

For Arthur to have more forcefully questioned the validity of his own perceptions, this might have ratcheted up the psychological intrigue and intensity a notch — a possibility hinted at in the editing (in the resolution of the poison scene, for example), but regrettably, never fully developed. As a result, The Woman in Black solidly fulfills conventions of the genre, yet fails to transcend them. Still this is an elegant and auspicious offering from the legendary Hammer Film Productions that succeeds as a gothic romance, serving up a less gory, more pleasing slice of terror.