Friday, April 13, 2012

The Awakening's Supernatural Charms: A Movie Review

*spoiler alert.

Director: Nick Murphy.

Writers: Stephen Volk and Nick Murphy.

Cast: Rebecca Hall, Dominic West and Imelda Staunton.

Back in the days of post-war England, true paranormal investigators were few and far between. Spiritualists most likely outnumbered the sleuths who were interested in debunking the paranormal. While Houdini did correspond with Harry Price, a British pioneer of paranormal research, both of them were well respected for chasing after frauds. For Price, he showed that the investigative approach to proving the existence of ghosts must be methodical.

In The Awakening, Florence Cathcart (Rebecca Hall) is a self-proclaimed investigator with plenty of credentials to show that every paranormal case has a plausible reason. This myth buster heads to a boarding school to find a ghost boy said to be haunting the premises, and disprove his existence.

This movie combines the best elements from Shelly Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House, Alejandro AmenĂ¡bar’s The Others, and M. Night Shyamalan’s Sixth Sense. The period setting of a post World War I makes for a great backdrop and the English countryside gives viewers a traditional mystique that is born out of Conan Doyle’s "Hound of the Baskervilles. "

But in a time where spiritualism was at an all-time high, the children are more suspicious of Florence's methods than the adults at the school. For most of them, they seem to be harbouring plenty of guilt about a past they cannot forget. Florence is able to quickly pick up on that, but in the relationship that she develops between one of the boys, Tom (Isaac Wright), and one of the instructors, Robert Mallory (Dominic West, "The Wire"), one huge question needs to be asked: who does she care for the most?

The relationships that develop hints at what will come later in the film. The conflict is not obvious and that is part of this film's mystic charm.

In what is not are the moments where the film tries to shock viewers. The jump scares are unneeded and the better frights are the implied ones. One effective scene is in where Florence knows she is being watched when she peers into a microcosm of the building she is in. When she looks into the mock-up of the mansion, she finds the little dolls are precisely positioned to even show what she is doing. Suddenly, there is someone behind her, and that is a fright worth noting.

Some of these scares are designed to draw Florence in, and keep someone else out. As for who, maybe that is with Tom, the boy she befriends.

One of the reasons why this ghost story is effective is that it avoids a few of the staples of the genre. The era the story takes place in is beautifully Edwardian in terms of social ambiance. The residents of the school have to adhere to the established regime. Punishment is swift; that means beating a stick to the back of the hands of all miscreants. If some viewers are reminiscing about the world from Pink Floyd's "The Wall," the boys are certainly here for more than just an education. The building feels like one of her Majesty’s prisons at times since no one is allowed to play after hours.

Also, the architecture looks like it is designed to show how people can be trapped in between two worlds. The atmosphere certainly reflects it with the devices Flo uses to debunk the other side. But in the ghosts that she fears the most are those of her own and that is left up to interpretation. Most of this film’s narrative is built for the viewers to debate amongst themselves.

In order for that to happen, this video will have to be imported in from across the pond. As of press-time, Studio Canal has still not yet revealed plans for this movie’s North American video release.

Overall: 6 out of 10.

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