The Woman in Black - 2012

I was very nervous about this movie, only because I was concerned Daniel Radcliffe would not be up to the lead role. Or that it would be impossible to see past Harry Potter. I have never been so happy to be so wrong..

Daniel shines as the young recently widowed lawyer, Arthur Kipps, whose grief over the death of his wife has put his career in jeopardy. The law firm where he works gives him a final chance at redemption, he has to go to the remote English village of Crythin Gifford to settle the affairs of the recently deceased Mrs. Drablow by selling her home, Eel Marsh House, and retrieving any important papers from the residence.

It is apparent once Arthur arrives in the village, they are not welcoming of outsiders, though he does find a few kind souls, and they tell him he should leave at the first opportunity. Undeterred by everyone’s attempts to get him out of the village, he makes his way to Eel Marsh and finds an old but beautiful home in a sad state of disrepair. This is where the plot starts to get good and I am going to let you watch the movie because if I go any further, spoilers will abound.

The atmosphere in this film is amazing. It is easy to compare this film to the old Hammer films of the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s, where you got the whole package when you watched a Hammer film. There is not much gore in this film, it is more about the psychological scares and the tricks they play on your eyes. A subtle movement down a dark hall, a reflection in a window, or just a flicker of something that you see before the camera moves away and you are not really sure if you saw something or not. The soundtrack plays not only to each scene beautifully but, also it’s just enough to play on your nerves. They actually use ambient sounds to help pull you into the eerie feeling of something is not quite right in this house. Was that the wind or a whisper in your ear?

This is not a fast movie, there is not a lot of gore. It is more of a slow burn as you work your way through what is going on. As you watch Arthur work through his grief for his lost wife as well as try to deal with this environment that is dark, lonely, and isolated, you might stop trusting your own eyes and ears..

Daniel Radcliffe does an amazing job as the young Arthur Kipps. Many people were worried that he would not be able to break away from the world of Harry Potter, a role that dominated his life for over a decade. He was able to prove critics wrong that not only could he leave Harry behind. He could shine in other genres as well. He is quite sympathetic as the young father who has recently lost his wife and is being overcome by his grief. (Side note: The role of his son is actually played by his actual godson, Misha Handley, an idea presented by Radcliffe to help have a believable father/son relationship.) Arthur is a man broken under the weight of his loss. He is letting himself just give up on life since he is not sure how to go on without his wife, Stella. He knows he needs to be a father to young Joseph, but cannot see past his own grief to make this happen. His job is also suffering, and though his law firm is sympathetic to his loss, they finally say enough is enough and tell him that his last chance to get himself back on track is to go handle this case. I don’t think the irony is lost on anyone that his emotional state could be reflected in the house in which he is staying. Daniel does such an amazing job pulling at your heartstrings as he struggles to make sense of how his life has turned out and do the job he has been set to do. Before he was the tormented Arthur Kipps, he was known around the world as the teenage wizard hero and namesake of the fantasy film series “Harry Potter”. Daniel went on to star in the 2013 fantasy thriller “Horns” as well as a starring role in the British TV series “A Young Doctor’s Handbook:” Most recently, you can see him as Igor in the 2015 film “Victor Frankenstein.”

Our next cast member to discuss is the veteran Irish actor Ciarán Hinds. He plays landowner Samuel Daily, one of the few people in the village who is kind to Arthur. Ciarán had a pretty established career before his role in the wonderfully dark film. Some of his more memorable roles include “Excalibur” 1981, “Circle of Friends” 1995, “The Sum of all Fears” 2002, as well as multiple TV movies and television series. Most recently he has been the voice of “Pabbie” in the 2013 blockbuster Disney film “Frozen”, as well as a role in the 2015 “Hitman: Agent 47”. Sam is not only kind to Arthur when very few others in the village are, but he also helps Arthur piece together what is going on. Sam and his family have suffered their own tragedy they must also work through.

Speaking of the Daily’s, Mrs. Daily is played by the extremely talented Janet McTeer. She does a fantastic job of walking the razor’s edge of sanity and is quite believable when she leans over the wrong end of the blade. She is a kind woman, she is just struggling to deal with their family tragedy. Before you could see McTeer as Mrs. Daily, she had a very established and successful career. You could see her in 1992’s film version of “Wuthering Heights”, the 2006 “As You Like It”, as well as multiple TV movies and series. Most recently you can see her in the 2014 live-action Disney hit “Maleficent” as well as the 2015 hit “Insurgent” as well as the 2016 continuation “Allegiant”.

This movie is such a great movie, between the atmosphere, jump scares, and visual tricks you will see something new every time you watch it. I love the way that this movie grabs you right from the beginning and holds you all the way until the credits start to roll.