Henry James’ “The Turn of the Screw” gets an update in The
Turning (2020) from director Floria Sigismundi.
Written by Carey and Chad Hayes the film tells the story of Kate Mandell
(Mackenzie Davis) who needs a job and is hired to teach and take care of the
young Flora Fairchild (Brooklyn Prince) in an elaborate estate. When Flora’s older brother Miles (Finn Wolfhard)
unexpectedly returns home, Kate finds herself taking care of both the children
who harbor deep and dark secrets that slowly play on her fragile psyche. Kate soon witness’s strange behavior in Miles
as well as unusual occurrences on the estate that force her to ask the question
of what is real and what is just in her head.
The film starts off well enough as a thriller with ghostly
overtones. Of particular interest is David
Ungaro’s cinematography which creates a foreboding atmosphere to the estate
creating a character all its own. Davis
also gives a great performance but neither Wolfhard nor Prince can hold their
own as their performances are all over the place (whether they are playing the
young children they are supposed to be or children possessed by ghosts) giving
you the impression that they don’t know what type of film they are it. The film also quickly falls apart as it tries
to by ambitious and too cryptic to the material to absurdity and by the time
you get to the final reveal you’ve completely given up on the film.
I love ambiguous films when they work for the story and/or
characters but this film tries so hard being different and edgy due to the fact
that it’s telling a story that’s been told plenty of times before that it
misses the mark of actually telling a good and logical story. It also lacks any real suspense or horror
relying completely on mood and suspense which would be fine if it delivered on
everything else but this is simply one of the biggest missed opportunities to
come by in a long time and you’ll leave thinking it’s simply forgettable drivel.
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