Voice from the Stone

Based on the titular 1996 novel by Silvio Raffo, filmmaker Eric D. Howell's Voice from the Stone stars Emilia Clarke as Verena, a nurse who specializes in helping troubled children. Verena is hired by Klaus (Marton Csokas), a gloomy widower living on a remote estate, to work with his 9-year-old son, who has refused to speak since the death of his mother. The boy's silence stems from the fact that he has been listening to the dead woman's voice through the granite walls of the family castle, but even though Verena initially dismisses this supernatural notion, she becomes a believer after hearing the voice herself, and she uses this knowledge to break through to the boy. At the same time, Verena also encourages Klaus to resume his sculpting by becoming his model. Clearly, an acceptance of the past is the key to both the father and the son overcoming their grief and moving on—but achieving that end is complicated by the intervention of ghosts, either real or imagined. While borrowing liberally from Rebecca and The Turn of the Screw, Howell's film draws the viewer into its dreamy world through the use of a deliberate, painterly style, but a rushed last act (complete with sudden shock effects) ultimately undermines this old-fashioned Gothic mood piece. Still, this should be considered a strong optional purchase. (F. Swietek)