REVIEW: The Woman in Black
10:31 PM, Feb 4, 2012 | 3 comments
Written by
Amy Jacobson KurokawaThe Woman in Black
A review by Jonathan Mumm
In a sense, our young lawyer is on probation. Having lost his wife in childbirth several years before, he has not been able to pull himself from a depression that is having a very deleterious effect on his work. The law firm is offering him one chance to redeem himself: go to the little village of Crythin Gifford it is and the now deserted home of an elderly woman who took her own life. Once there, he is to sort through what promises to be mounds of papers to put her affairs in order.
Kipps is reluctant to leave his young son, but is eager to make good and so he sets off on his journey. When he arrives, however, he finds the villagers not only unreceptive but downright rude and it is only with some difficulty that he is able to secure a room for a night at a village inn. On top of that, the local lawyer who is supposed to help him simply gives him a small packet that he claims is all the paperwork Kipps will need before sending him off by carriage to catch the next train.
But Kipps is determined to see the job through and bribes the carriage driver to take him instead to the old mansion. The place gives new meaning to the word isolated. The road that takes you there goes through a boggy marsh along the seashore. It is a road that disappears at certain times of the day and night with the coming of high tide. The mansion itself is a long disused, decaying place, its rooms cluttered with old furnishings, old toys and memories.
There is something unsettled here and before long, our young lawyer has caught glimpses of a severe looking woman, an apparent ghost the locals call "the woman in black." He soon learns the reason they did not want him to stay is that whenever someone sees her, dreadful things occur.
The movie is full of mystery, deep secrets and long moments of Radcliffe walking the hallways of the lonely, old house with a candle or lantern, knowing there is something waiting just around the next corner. Director James Watkins builds the suspense and then ratchets it up, notch by notch. If you're looking to be scared, you won't be disappointed.
Radcliffe is very good as Kipps, Ciaran Hinds a stand out as the one man in the village willing to lend a hand and Janet McTeer equally good as Hinds' mad wife, still despairing over the loss of their son. On a recent television appearance, Radcliffe said The Woman in Black is a perfect date movie because your date will be jumping into your arms. From personal experience I can tell you it works for married couples as well.
Read more: http://www.news10.net/news/article/176962/37/REVIEW-The-Woman-in-Black
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