Broadcast on Masterpiece Theatre, this superb 1999 adaptation of the classic Henry James ghost story benefits from sharp casting, intelligent direction, and literate writing under limited budgetary conditions. Director Ben Bolt (son of the great British screenwriter Robert Bolt) sets James' story on an expansive British estate where young "Miss" (Jodhi May) is employed as governess to a pair of seemingly angelic, motherless children whose distant, uncaring father (Colin Firth) is always traveling and can't be bothered with the hassles of childcare. Her employment idyll is shattered when she begins to see the ghosts of the estate's former valet and previous governess, and becomes obsessed with protecting the children--not so innocent as they first appeared--from a dreadful fate she's convinced will befall them. James' timeless horror novella gets a loyal treatment here, and May brilliantly conveys the psychological torment of her character's escalating psychosis. While there are other, better-known adaptations of James' tale (particularly 1961's The Innocents), this one deserves a wide audience. Recommended. (J. Shannon)
The Turn of the Screw
WGBH, 100 min., not rated, DVD: $19.95 Volume 19, Issue 4
The Turn of the Screw
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