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"But above anything else, I love the children"
10 years ago
General
THE INNOCENTS (1961), directed by Jack Clayton (The Criterion Collection). Based on The Turn of the Screw by Henry James.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Innocents.....f=cm_cr-mr-img
Who's really in danger here -- Deborah Kerr's virginal, increasingly unhinged governess, or the unnervingly adult youngsters in her charge?
It's Henry James by way of screenwriter Truman Capote, which explains why the two young actors (Pamela Franklin and Martin Stephens) utter dialogue far too arch and knowing to be issuing from the mouths of children, which is precisely the point. It's another dream project for director Jack Clayton, one of the seven films he completed in a thirty year, hard luck career. It's a tour de force for actress Deborah Kerr, whose character's actions are balanced on a knife edge of heroic resolve and utter insanity.
And yes, it's one of the scariest ghost stories I've ever seen. We're never quite sure of what we're hearing or seeing in this film, which quietly refuses to clear up any of its ambiguities.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Innocents.....f=cm_cr-mr-img
Who's really in danger here -- Deborah Kerr's virginal, increasingly unhinged governess, or the unnervingly adult youngsters in her charge?
It's Henry James by way of screenwriter Truman Capote, which explains why the two young actors (Pamela Franklin and Martin Stephens) utter dialogue far too arch and knowing to be issuing from the mouths of children, which is precisely the point. It's another dream project for director Jack Clayton, one of the seven films he completed in a thirty year, hard luck career. It's a tour de force for actress Deborah Kerr, whose character's actions are balanced on a knife edge of heroic resolve and utter insanity.
And yes, it's one of the scariest ghost stories I've ever seen. We're never quite sure of what we're hearing or seeing in this film, which quietly refuses to clear up any of its ambiguities.
Though my favorite thing with Truman Capote is Murder by Death.