The Woman in Black (2012) PG-13 95 minutes
Based on book, British movies, Dark, Depressing, Drama, Emotional, Gripping, Horror, Imaginative, Intelligent, Mystery, Scary, Sentimental, Smart, Supernatural, Suspense, Thriller, Underrated
Director: James Watkins
Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Ciarán Hinds, Janet McTeer, Roger Allam, Shaun Dooley, Mary Stockley, Liz White
A lot/Strong : Death, Gore, Violence
Some/Mild : Alcohol, Language
No : Drugs, Sex/Nudity, Torture
Overall grade: "A-"
Recommended: "For traditional horror fans"
Directing: "A-", Acting: "A-", Visual Effects: "N/A"
Story Line: "B+", Aftertaste: "B+", Date Movie: "F"
Family Friendliness: "F", Original Concept: "No"
“The Woman in Black” is a tastefully executed, stylish, atmospheric Victorian English Gothic horror Movie. Under the confident hand of the visionary director James Watkins ("Eden Lake") all the numerous little pieces of the complex movie puzzle were fittingly put together by the excellent production team with admirable delicate thoughtfulness and commendable precision.
The screenplay for “The Woman in Black” is based on the popular novel with the same name written by Susan Hill, an award-winning English author heavily influenced by M.R. James– a famous master of a supernatural short story.
The cleverly adapted by Jane Goldman (“Stardust”, “X-Men: First Class”) screenplay relies more on subtle cues than on sparingly and appropriately used cheap scares.
While being very enjoyable from a pure aesthetic perspective, “The Woman in Black” could nevertheless disappoint those looking for a deeper, more intellectually stimulating story. Unlike such masterpieces of the genre as “Se7en” or “Saw”, the movie does not feature thought-provoking moral and ethical dilemmas. In other words, it is quite entertaining, but not deeply satisfying on the intellectual level.
With that notable exception, the movie is nearly perfect in almost every aspect and is a pleasure to watch thanks to the fine work of the movie crew, well-orchestrated by James Watkins.
There is a lot to appreciate in “The Woman in Black”, including the cinematography by TimMaurice-Jones who worked with Guy Ritchie on “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” and “Snatch”, and the production design by Kave Quinn, previously known for his memorable work on “Harry Brown” and “LayerCake”.
The original music was written by a prolific movie composer Marco Beltrami, known for his work on tens of popular movies, including “3:10 to Yuma” (2007) and “The Hurt Locker”(2008) for which he received Academy Awards nominations.
The most memorable music piece in the movie is an elegantly slow, subtly hinting on deeply hidden but utterly inescapable tragedy and horror “The Woman in Black” theme, quite creepy in all of its deceptive fragility.
The creators of “The Woman in Black” put a lot of thought in utilizing both the music and the sound effects in a delicate fashion that preserves, emphasizes, and magnifies the horror element, rather than ruins it by preparing the viewers in advance to what is going to happen next on the screen. As a result, “The Woman in Black” grants us a unique luxury many other horror movies sadly deprive us of – being genuinely terrified when we least expect it.
Both the interesting work with light and the well thought-out color palette used in “The Woman in Black” deserve a separate mention in the review as well.
The whole movie crew, led by the director and the production designer, put a lot of heart, soul, and hard work into inventing all the small details featured in the film and carefully and skillfully combining them together to create a truly unique movie atmosphere.
There is not a single inauthentic moment in the “The Woman in Black” not a moment when a character or a detail seems to be out of place or out of style.
It is quite enjoyable to register all the small details sprinkled here and there throughout the movie, to guess their hidden meaning, to experience the associated emotions, to appreciate their thoughtfulness, to savor the perfection of their visual implementation.
It is fun to analyze all the various efficient techniques that the movie crew employs to gradually intensify horror, all the clever little diversions that they launch to muddle the plot and to introduce a measured amount of confusion into the movie watching experience.
The sensitive matters of life and death, love and loss are not taken lightly in “The Woman in Black” They are handled with care and with reverence and are depicted in a sympathetic, deeply touching manner.
In addition, “The Woman in Black” happens to be a genuinely emotional movie, with the emphasis on the word “genuinely“. Authentically depicting human emotions on the screen appears to be one of the most difficult tasks in the movie industry.
Even subtle emotions can become significant and captivating when shown on the screen if everyone involved in their depiction - from the director, to the screenwriter, to, of course, the actors – knows what they are doing.
At the same time, even the strongest emotions can be perceived with indifferent yawns by the disconnected audience if the movie crew lacks professionalism and skill to properly show these emotions on the screen.
Of course, my review of “The Woman in Black” would be incomplete without a small, but important discussion about the acting in the movie. I do not think that anyone would argue with my high praise to the terrific acting duo of Ciarán Hinds and Janet McTeer (Mr. and Mrs. Daily) or with my accolades to all the other vivid and talented supporting characters, including the kid actors.
The performance of the “Harry Potter” star Daniel Radcliffe (Arthur Kipps, the main character) happens to be a far more controversial subject.
Even before watching “The Woman in Black” I heard many complaints from critics and general audience alike regarding Daniel Radcliffe playing Arthur.
After having seen the movie, I can say that apart from Daniel Radcliffe looking too young for the role of a widower with a four year old son and him occasionally bearing a painful resemblance to Harry Potter, I do not have any major complaints about the performance. It was not a great role, but generally a solid one, leaving us more or less hopeful regarding the Daniel Radcliffe s future acting career.
Nobody could put it in words better than the great Jack Lemmon who once said: “If you really do want to be an actor who can satisfy himself and his audience, you need to be vulnerable. You must reach the emotional and intellectual level of ability where you can go out stark naked, emotionally, in front of an audience.”
Sadly, Hollywood actors, especially young and vulnerable ones, are exposed to so many temptations and destructive influences early in their lives that they rarely reach the emotional and intellectual maturity necessary for becoming a good actor or for that matter a decent human being.
Therefore, choosing between the two options – a promising and mostly capable actor whose appearance or age might not be a hundred percent fit for the role (Daniel Radcliffe in“The Woman in Black”) and a seemingly incapable actor whose appearance and age are perfect for the character (for example, Henry Cavill in “Immortals”) I would definitely prefer the former to the latter.
Despite some minor weaknesses and a lack of depth, “The Woman in Black” still remains a worthy and well-executed effort and simply an enjoyable traditional horror movie, recommended for all fans of the genre.
