Title: The Woman in Black
Directed by: James Watkins
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Janet McTeer, Ciaran Hinds
“The Woman in Black” is a throwback to an older generation: a generation of haunted houses, ghosts and creepy children. It’s a challenge, certainly, for a film such as this to be released in an era where no one is frightened by ghostly apparitions anymore. But nevertheless, director James Watkins’ “The Woman in Black” is pretty creepy. Initially I was skeptical as to whether or not Daniel Radcliffe could shoulder the load–since the film is centrally focused on his performance and his alone. And, sadly, he limps along to the finale. An average performance that needed more push.
Arthur Kipps (Radcliffe) is having trouble. He’s been haunted ever since his wife died tragically after childbirth, leaving him with a son, Joseph, and a nanny. Kipps is having further difficulties with his finances and is on the verge of losing his job until he is offered to take care of a deceased woman’s estate. Kipps is sent on his way into a small town, where he soon finds he is unwelcome by the locals, and also by an unknown entity draped in black. She appears in the woods and, unnervingly enough, all over the mansion.
The story itself isn’t really complex. But that’s precisely what allows Watkins to focus entirely on the mood. This is where Watkins is most successful. He works with the grey- and-black toned photography very well. Strikingly moody and grim. What was most important was Radcliffe’s performance, which is what is most uneven. While he works reasonably well in solitude, his relationship with his son seems completely artificial and contrived. They lack the chemistry necessary to build empathy. In fact, they seem incredibly distant.
Susan Hill’s creation “The Woman in Black” is at its heart a haunted house, ghost story. But in this case, the plot never hits the high notes it needs to. It’s creepy, but it never builds the emotional and unstable feeling that we as an audience need and live for–our catharsis. As harsh as it sounds, The Woman in Black is purely artificial in its way of storytelling. We hit all of the necessary jumps and thrills, but we never go any deeper. A good example of this is in the opening scene where Kipps is contemplating suicide, yet his performance is never as heartbreaking as it should be.
In the end, it’s not a bad film. It might, and most likely will be enjoyed for its classic horror feel that could prove to be a breath of fresh air–and it’ll certainly cleanse our palette of recent, awful horror movies. We can always hope that this is a foreshadowing of better horror to come. Ones that actually care about their characters, not only the unique ways they can torture them (see any other horror movie in the past five years; e.g. Saw 20 and yet another exorcism). The Woman in Black is a solid piece of craftsmanship, and unfortunately, that’s about as far as it goes. It’s too bad, too, since it could have been a great horror film.
Technical: B+
Acting: C
Story: C+
Overall: C+
By Justin Webb
