The Innocents

Dir. Jack Clayton

100 Minutes

UK

1961

Starring: Deborah Kerr, Peter Wyngarde, Megs Kenkins. Michael Redgrave, Martin Stephens, Pamela Franklin

****/*****

Jack Clayton's The Innocents, an adaptation of Henry James' "The Turn of the Screw", is a hauntingly beautiful piece of work, eerie in its cerebral presentation of the source material and anchored by a terrific performance by Deborah Kerr. Kerr plays Miss Giddens, a young governess for young Flora and Miles, the latter of which is away at school. Giddens gets the job under two conditions: that she takes full responsibility for the children, and that she leaves their uncle (who is essentially their ward after the death of their father) alone when it comes to any issue. After Miles is sent home from school because of alleged disrespectful behavior, Giddens begins to learn a little bit more about what the children have gone through, including the death of their former governess Miss Jessel and the valet of the estate Peter Quint, who were having a love affair. She soon begins to suspect that the two are possessing the young children, and works to exorcise the demons from the house.

The film is presented quite simply, but the quiet ways in which Clayton presents Giddens' shaky sensibilities are lovingly done, and the picture works perfectly alongside his later film Our Mother's House. While that film is haunting more in its situation and less in any outward attempts at horror, the more "jump" scares on display here are highly effective because of the very lulling effect that the drama has, starting immediately with the extended black screen singing of a repeated tune, even before the Fox logo makes an appearance. Kerr gives some terrific work as Giddens, and her own frantic descent and moans that bookend the piece are suitably terrifying. But the film captures the essence of the James text, feeling like both a true adaptation and a fitting remnant of the waning 50s style.

October 23rd, 2019