clever choice by Hammer, good career move by Daniel Radcliffe

Rating: 7/10 (6 May 2015)

Hammer consolidates its return to horror film production and Daniel Radcliffe begins his post-Harry Potter career with this finely-crafted adaptation of Susan Hill's 1983 Gothic horror novel The Woman in Black. A cast of strong character actors, careful direction, beautiful cinematography and genuine scares come together to produce a subtle and satisfying film. Daniel Radcliffe stars as Arthur Kipps, haunted by a woman in white as well as a woman in black, a man empty inside since his wife's death until a routine solicitors job in the village of Crythin Gifford brings Kipps into contact with a vicious spirit whose undead rage ultimately gives him back everything he has lost.
The first ten minutes establishes much of the story to come and creates the anticipation that is part of the pleasure of watching a good ghost story. The opening scene is an eerie, wordless study of three little girls breaking off their dolls tea party to throw themselves out of a window; a light, ghostly quality is created by the colour scheme, mainly white, no primary colours, and the close-ups of the delicate dolls and teacups and the girls' paleness. It seems that someone else was in the room, by the way the girls all look up at the same spot and then look at the window. Something supernatural is present. When Arthur Kipps travels to Crythin Gifford we can anticipate the questions of what will happen to him there and will he survive.
Daniel Radcliffe gives a strong and convincing performance as Arthur Kipps, deep in mourning over the death of his wife in childbirth several years ago. Kipps is emotionally shut down, almost suicidal and haunted by visions of his wife, who is always dressed in white. This is a major change in story from the novel and the previous BBC movie and separates this version enough to give it a distinctive identity and make it more than a mere remake. It aligns the gloom within Kipps to the gloom he will soon encounter in Crythin Gifford; the presence of one ghostly woman, a woman he desperately wants, will soon be matched and opposed by another ghostly woman he does not want, providing a nice symmetry throughout the film and a resolution at the end when the one reunites him with the other.
Radcliffe plays a man under pressure from the start. As well as being severely depressed Kipps has unpaid bills and the threat of the sack hanging over him. His trip to Crythin Gifford is his last chance to save his job and the determination he shows in coping with events there gives a solidity and believability to Radcliffe's performance.
On the train to Crythin Gifford Kipps meets Sam Daily, played by Ciaran Hinds, in a solid support role. His part here as the older, wealthy local man set apart from the villagers not just by his status but also by his refusal to accept their superstitions makes him Kipps' ally, as the story needs at least one local on Arthur's side if he is to get anywhere; Hinds acts with certainty and seriousness, supporting Arthur throughout the story and trying to keep him sane. Sam Daily also has a ghost: a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost which will play its part in unravelling the mystery.
It soon becomes clear that something is very wrong in the village and that it concerns the children. The local people are frightened and hostile and want to get rid of Kipps as soon as possible. Children are locked away after one little girl dies and Kipps seems to be blamed for this and possibly more. The film begins to take on the feel and tone of classic Hammer movies: the village with its dark secret, the old dark house/castle, the outsider who, joined by the local priest/older authority figure, has to fight the evil.
The significant ghostly action takes place when Kipps visits the house of his late client, Mrs Drablow, and begins to piece together her story. Mrs Drablow's unmarried sister had a son which the Drablows adopted and who died in marshland. The boy's natural mother, Jennet, went mad and hanged herself, blaming her sister for the boy's death. It is her spirit which haunts Eel Marsh House, taking the village children in revenge for her loss. Alarmingly, Kipps is bringing his own small son to the village in a few days and so the plot turns into a race against time as Kipps has to resolve the mystery and placate the spirit before his son falls victim.
The scenes with Kipps at the house are classic haunted house fare but very well done. Weird noises in the empty house, doors locked then unlocked, spectral faces and things glimpsed, the creepiness of old children's toys and visions of past victims all push Kipps to the edge but also towards a resolution. Daniel Radcliffe is great in these long scenes with no dialogue and he holds the attention through expressing Kipps' uncertainty in exploring the old dark house, his isolation and mounting terror as the spirits reveal themselves.
The ending brings the story of Arthur Kipps to a meaningful conclusion. Death at the hands of Jennet is not the triumph of her curse but the beginning of a new life with his woman in white. He is reunited with his wife and finally finds the fulfilment lacking in his mortal life. The scene avoids sentimentality by keeping it brief and understated: there's a smile and they walk off into the mist, proving that, handled properly, there's nothing wrong with a happy ending. The woman in black remains locked up in Eel Marsh House. Her rage is unabated, her desire for revenge continues – because she is dead it can never end.