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The Woman In Black(movie)

First of all, a warning... do not read this if you plan on watching this movie. I'll try to avoid spoilers but it is unavoidable that I touch on instances in the movie to make a point. So be warned. Watch the movie first, then read this post. The Woman In Black is a movie directed by James Watkins and is based on the Susan Hill novel of the same title. The main protagonist(Arthur Kipps) is played by Daniel Radcliff aka Mr. Harry Potter. It's hard to watch this movie without going "Look ma! It's Harry Potter!". Like all novel to movie adaptations, it exhibits some adaptation syndrom symptoms. Let me explain...

Like all movies that are rather limited when it comes to screen time, details are definitely cut out. Make no mistake, I haven't read The Woman In Black, but I noticed the lack of detail and explanations for the plot. That being said, The Woman In Black does not(at least to my knowledge) display any gaping plot holes. That's a good sign. The Woman In Black centres on an old English house that is haunted by the ghost of vindictive woman. Mr. Harry Potter... I mean Mr. Arthur Kipps is a lawyer sent to investigate the matter due to... I'm not quite sure, some legalesse greek to me. All you need to know is that he's going there to investigate and find a few documents(another indication of the of the novel to movie adaptation symptom).

Mr. Kipps has a rather interesting background. He's a troubled fellow who's just been through some pretty depressing stuff and is still haunted(no pun intended) by it. NOTE TO BOSSES! DO NOT GIVE MENTALLY TROUBLED FOLK DIFFICULT ASSIGNMENTS! Off he goes to this charming little English town and he gets the cold shoulder treatment from its inhabitants. Something about the woman in black that's causing lots of nervousness with the town folk.

Kipps investigates the old house and lots of weird stuff goes down. Children die in horrible ways and Harry Potter can't do anything to stop it. Obviously this is a horror movie. It doesn't quite have the shock factor of those insane Asian horror flicks like The Ring. It still goes for some cheap shocking moments that almost seem cliché to me(these have been done for too many time... really... a mysterious image on the second floor window of a creepy house?) To be fair though, there are some truly unique twists to these pretty common cinematic horror techniques. But when the director is out of ideas... a screaming banshee always works wonders.

Daniel Radcliff's performance is rather unspectacular. A friend of mine who watched the movie commented that he was stiff, to which I have to agree. A pity really, it isn't the drama role that Mr. Harry Potter was looking for to establish himself as a good actor. The plot doesn't allow for much character development in the first place and I felt the character of Arthur Kipps or the kind stranger he meets Sam Daily(Ciaran Hinds) wasn't explored with depth. I felt an empathy for Sam Daily since he is the sceptical character that doesn't believe in these ghost business. Of course by the end of it, he had to give in to the narrative of ghosts and revengeful spirits(or else there wouldn't be a plot... it's okay... it's a movie. I can forgive it for this).

The Woman In Black also displays some amazing cinematography. Some of the scenes and shots were just visually breathtaking, such as the isolated haunted house in it's own little island that is separated from mainland with this tiny strip of crossing. The Victorian'esque setting of the narrative, with it's elaborate quintessential English house aesthetics to the dressing. I'm a sucker for such settings. The pretty aesthetics is unfortunately not accompanied by a smart narrative... which is a tad bit disappointing.

Except for the ending which, while I understood what happened, the final line of script completely toyed with my expectations. Not Sixth Sense brilliant, but smart nevertheless. The Woman In Black is an enjoyable watch. It's not movie of the year, but it is a worthwhile watch if you're itching to watch a movie and there isn't anything good showing. Decent horror flick.

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