Henry James' wonderful 'Turn of the Screw' story provides, surely, the ideal scenario for an Ivan Noel film. There's stiff opposition: several exceptional versions already exist plus Benjamin Britten's unique chamber opera.
The story is deliberately ambiguous - do the 'ghosts' exist?; are the children under the control of other-worldly spirits?; is the governess imagining things which lead her to false conclusions?
The key differences in this adaptation are: 1) setting the story in the age of the computer (not, I think, a great idea when you see how little the governess uses it to connect to the outside world and the uncle in particular; 2) the children are feral rather than the product of an upper class upbringing; 3) the denouement makes use of IN's trademark unexpected twist.
As in his previous work, the director makes wonderful use of music (sadly, in this film, not his own) including the haunting 'malo - I am bad' theme from Britten's score. Other 'fingerprints' include beautiful shots of nature (landscapes/skies/insects, etc), memorable framing shots (Angel seen distantly through a door portal, sitting outside against a stone ball - famous painting?? and behind a net curtain, use of water as a theme with dark connotations, plus strikingly beautiful close-ups of faces.
The portrayal of Angel and Ema by Valentino Vinco and Malena Alonso, is superb throughout They are always believable, reacting to each other in a totally realistic way given their background. I especially enjoyed the laughing fit which inevitably concludes their first 'formal' meal.
The housekeeper, naive but all-knowing, is superbly played.
I was put off almost immediately by the uncle who, unfortunately, has an annoying 'click' to his speech and is lacking in visual expression
Christina Maresca, 'La Tutora' herself (Mona she certainly is!) acts well (a regular in IN's films). We steadily lose empathy with her - I suspect this is deliberate. As a teacher she would not pass her probationary year! You cannot begin by declaring to your children, "I'll be your teacher and your friend": it just doesn't work. She then tries her utmost (unsuccessfully, thank God) to impose her own middle class moral judgements on the children, failing spectacularly to understand where they are coming from. The film challenges her judgements. Statements such a "You will obey/respect me," "They should not sleep in the same bedroom," "It's improper that you bathe outside wearing nothing" are never reasoned and when she comes out with "It's not natural to be naked" (what could be more so?) my anger was such that all sympathy was lost! I think, and hope, that IN is challenging us to consider these issues from an unbiased standpoint (as opposed to media-driven pressures) in much the same way as Nicholas Roeg does in 'Walkabout' (1970).
Maybe not the best of his films but certainly a worthy release, deserving acclaim. One final question. The (alternative) title: surely 'Grazed Knees' rather than 'Burnt Knees'?
