Perfect cast and a good story

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

With all due respect to flinty-but-dear Megs Jenkins (Mrs. Grose in both the 1961 "The Innocents" and the Lynn Redgrave made-for-TV Ben Bolt-directed rendering), Pam Ferris' housekeeper seems closest to the illiterate, fierce, none-too-genteel woman of James' story. Maybe it's her sheer size, but she grounds the story completely and serves as splendid contrast to the slim, neurasthenic Jodhi May as the Governess. No "The Innocents" (the only dramatization with a point of view), still, this "Turn" works pretty well and may have the best ever staging of Miles' death.

The 1961 Deborah Kerr vehicle, "The Innocents" went for thesupernatural chills and is likely the best adaptation ever (at leastit's likely the most popular), but this straight-forward rendition ofHenry James' best known short novel is probably the closest to theauthor's intentions to date. By sticking with psychological terrorrather than creepy SFX, this production succeeds in portraying ayoung woman's descent into madness that too often takes abackseat to the realm of ghost story in lesser productions. JodhiMay's wide-eyed performance is nothing short of brilliant. PamFerris and Colin Firth round out the strong supporting cast(although Mr. Firth is seen only in the first five minutes of film andnothing more, so you Pride & Prejudice fans beware!).

This is a solid adaptation of a novella often used in highschools and colleges. Like James's book, this version uses point of view masterfully.A note for teachers: This adaptation is an excellent way to teach interpretation, especially when it is compared to the 1961 Jack Clayton production "The Innocents."

This was an interesting adaptation of James' equivocal little masterpiece. This production leaned a bit towards the Freudian camp/interpretation.I liked it. They took a bit of liberty on some of the Jamesian dialogue e.g. Flora's speech to the governess by the lake. Not as many liberties, though, as in "Wings of the Dove"Note for the pedantic: One surprising bit was the first apparition of Quint; he appears in the afternoon in broad daylight. Devotees of the James' piece and the ghost story frisson will surely remember that this occurred in twilight.