The Nightcomers

As with many Winner films it is necessary to not make the mistake of expecting his film to be exactly as you expect, or very much like it at all actually. Forget Henry James, forget The Innocents and just enjoy Mr Winner's take on how the children lost their innocence. The SM and bondage scenes were more explicit than I remember on a previous viewing and it may be that the earlier video had been trimmed. Certainly here there is no mistaking the powerful relationship between Brando and Beacham and I for one found the playing out of these scenes by the children fairly powerful. I suppose the pace is a little slow which is perhaps particularly noticeable because of how quickly does the effective ending unfold. Not for purists but if you are looking for that something just a little bit different……UPDATE 7.2.17 Just watched this again, on blu ray this time and enjoyed it even more. Once again I felt the bondage scenes more explicit than I remember from before! Funny thing memory.

Dark and twisted but not in the good way. Heavy doses of female hysteria and misogyny. Just very mean spirited. Cruel treatment of animals as well. Supposedly about innocence lost. But only at the cost of the viewer.

In the Victorian England, the teenagers Flora (Verna Harvey) and her brother Miles (Christopher Ellis) have just lost their parents in a car accident in France. Their tutor (Harry Andrews) decides to leave the children alone in their huge mansion under the care of the old housekeeper Mrs. Grose (Thora Hird), the governess Miss Jessel (Stephanie Beacham) and the gardener Peter Quint (Marlon Brando). Miles and Flore are very connected to Peter, who misleads their education with twisted concepts of love and death, but the orphans believe and are fascinated by his knowledge. Peter is the lover of Jessel, and they use to have sadomasochistic sex. When Peter sees their kink bondage night of sex, he has a corrupted and perverted sexual initiation. When Mrs. Grose writes to the master of the house to fire Miss Jessel and Peter Quint, Flora and Miles plot a dark scheme to keep them together in the property.

"The Nightcomers" is a very dark tale about finding sexuality and losing innocence in a very twisted way. The performances of the cast are top-notch, but Marlon Brando leads the story with his usual competence. I have never had the chance to read "Turn of the Screw" or see "The Innocents" to make any comparison, but I really liked this unknown and underrated movie. The bondage scenes are very impressive, with Marlon Brando and Stephanie Beacham showing a great chemistry. It is impressive to see that Verna Harvey was twenty-years old in 1972. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Os Que Chegam Com a Noite" ("The Nightcomers")

For the inscrutable yet precocious personalities of Miles and Flora evident in the 1961 film 'The Innocents'. As well, the ghosts of that movie are fleshed out nicely in this prequel. Quint is a morally repugnant character, sadistic and controlling, but he's also darkly magnetic as the corrupter of the lovely young governess who submits to (and even embraces) his perverted ideas of sexuality. Together they are fated to become the imprisoned souls that haunt the estate. Together they have inflicted unknowable damage to the psyches of the children.

Brando is very good in the role of Quint. He gives the character a credibility and powerfulness that one would expect from a personality who will ultimately refuse to leave, even after his bizarre death. Few actors would be convincing enough to portray such a reprehensible protagonist and still be vaguely, mysteriously likable. That Brando can deliver this affect with legitimacy is not surprising, genius that he is. Another who might have been very interesting to watch in this role is Dirk Bogarde.

The director's visual styling of the film is it's most unfavorable aspect and prevents it from being excellent. In any case, this unusual little entry has always been a tad underrated. I suspect that now that Marlon has passed on an overdue re-assessment is likely.

Made at a time when Brando was doing very little on film (and when he did, could do no right, if one examines the reviews and box office returns of his films during this period), this prequel to "The Innocents" (which was based on Henry James' "The Turn of the Screw") has little going for it, but may still provide some interest to fans of his. Brando plays a valet whose employer and wife have died in India. The couple's two children come to live at their parents' estate and Brando stays on as a gardener/handyman. Also in residence is a persnickety maid (Hyrd) and a refined nanny/schoolteacher (Beacham.) These five form an uneasy existence with each other as the children hang on the earthy and repugnant Brando's every word and Brando repeatedly seduces Beacham with increasing sadomasochism. Hyrd tries to keep everyone in check to no avail. Finally, the machinations and misunderstandings culminate in a burst of violence, just in time for the story to peter out and set up for the beginning of the original. Brando is an acquired taste here. It's one of his performances in which it's the audience's duty (burden?) to figure out what he is doing and what he is saying. He's messy, flabby, often unintelligible and, naturally, self-indulgent. Nonetheless, fans of his may lap it up with relish. Beacham does a nice enough job, but can't hope to win any scenes up against the ACTING of Brando. The children (scarcely heard of again after this) are the typical bratty, snotty, unattractive, impossible kids that have been seen in countless British movies. The most interesting performance in the film is actually that of Hyrd. She brings a lot of variety and detail to her role of the housekeeper. Andrews pops up briefly and effectively as the children's' disinterested uncle. The film is stacked with unappetizing and repulsive scenes such as a frog being killed, a turtle being mistreated, chicken feathers being ripped out by hand and then, of course, the "arty" S&M sex scenes between Brando and Beacham. These tasteless (and rather boring) sequences don't illuminate the characters or entertain the audience and so are pretty pointless. There's a grain of interest in the material, but the sloppy direction and awkward script don't help keep it going. Stay awake for Beacham's hilarious final screen moment and for Brando's as well. Fortunately, for him, "The Godfather" was just around the corner.