The Turn of the Screw

Plot synopsis:
An unnamed narrator listens to Douglas, a friend, read a manuscript written by a former governess whom Douglas claims to have known and who is now dead. The manuscript tells the story of how the young governess is hired by a man who has become responsible for his young nephew and niece after the deaths of their parents. He lives mainly in London and is uninterested in raising the children.
The boy, Miles, is attending a boarding school, while his younger sister, Flora, is living at a summer country house in Essex. She is currently being cared for by Mrs. Grose, the housekeeper. Miles and Flora's uncle, the governess' new employer, gives her full charge of the children and explicitly states that she is not to bother him with communications of any sort. The governess travels to her new employer's country house, Bly, and begins her duties.
Miles soon returns from school for the summer just after a letter arrives from the headmaster stating that he has been expelled. Miles never speaks of the matter, and the governess is hesitant to raise the issue. She fears there is some horrible secret behind the expulsion but is too charmed by the adorable young boy to want to press the issue. Soon thereafter, around the grounds of the estate, the governess begins to see the figures of a man and woman whom she does not recognize. These figures come and go at will without ever being seen or challenged by other members of the household, and they seem to the governess to be supernatural. She learns from Mrs. Grose that her predecessor, Miss Jessel, and another employee, Peter Quint, had a sexual relationship. Before their deaths, Jessel and Quint spent much of their time with Flora and Miles, and this fact has grim significance for the governess when she becomes convinced that the two children are secretly aware of the ghosts' presence.
Later, without permission, Flora leaves the house while Miles is playing music for the governess. The governess notices Flora's absence and goes with Mrs. Grose in search of her. They find her in a clearing in the wood, and the governess is convinced that Flora has been talking to the ghost of Miss Jessel. When the governess finally confronts Flora, the girl denies seeing Miss Jessel and demands never to see the governess again. At the governess' suggestion, Mrs. Grose takes Flora away to her uncle, leaving the governess with Miles, who that night at last talks to her about his expulsion; the ghost of Quint appears to the governess at the window. The governess shields Miles, who attempts to see the ghost. The governess tells Miles he is no longer controlled by the ghost and then finds that Miles has died in her arms, and the ghost has gone.

Tags: gothic, haunting

Review:
The better of Petr Weigl's filmed versions of Britten's operas.... The other was 1996's Let's Make An Opera, which I did love overall, but found this even more impressive. Of the four or so Weigl opera films seen so far, 1982's The Turn of the Screw is the second best for me, the best being 1988's Eugene Onegin. 1994's Winterreisse was interesting but not particularly ideal for those who know the true meaning of the songs, despite the beauty of the visuals, the music and how it was performed. This Turn of the Screw may not be absolutely perfect, Lillian Watson sings beautifully but too mature for Flora I feel. Luckily the rest of the singers fare much better, Michael Quinn sounds wonderful though you may feel you prefer somebody older. Robert Tear is appropriately intense and relishes Quint's sense of mockery, Ava June is amusing and benevolent and Helen Donath has the right amount of naivety for the governess. The actors look great and act naturally enough. The music is wonderful, and beautifully performed by the orchestra and conducted with enough buoyancy. The simple story is both creepy and fun, though one thing I do prefer in the original story is the sense of ambiguity with the ghosts which the opera's libretto doesn't have in comparison. I also loved how the film looked, the settings are both beautiful and evocative, and there is nothing fake about them. The photography is very good. All in all, I loved it on the whole, maybe it is not the best performances of Britten's work I've seen(either 1981's A Midsummer Night's Dream, 1985's Albert Herring or 1987's Rape of Lucretia, the Barstow performance of Gloriana is also highly impressive), but there is much to make it worth seeing. 9/10 Bethany Cox. Listen with your eyes closed. Petr Weigl is not the first person to think that he can film an opera with beautiful people on the screen and the fat ladies confined to the soundtrack. He is hoping for the best of both worlds but he ends up with the worst. The voices just don't fit the faces and the lack of synchronisation is laughable. I was most sorry for the little girl who played Flora. Not only was she given a woman's voice but she had to spend the entire film with what looked like a dead ferret on her head. Britten's opera comes over very well if you listen with your eyes closed.