Presence of Mind

This movie is completely ruined by Sadie Frost who can't act and is rather too 'common' and for a period role. Shame really as it could have been rather good.

Little seen 1999 Spanish-American version of Henry James' The Turn of the Screw. Stars Sadie Frost, Lauren Bacall, and Harvey Keitel (Antoni Aloy was a first time director - not sure how he managed to assemble such a cast for this very low-budget (around $3 million) production). The location is transferred to a small Spanish island estate, but the story is essentially the same. Bacall easily dominates in the acting. Keitel is good but is actually seen very little. Frost is okay; in fact I've always had a bit of a thing for her, but her attractiveness distracted me from seeing her as an uptight, repressed governess (Deborah Kerr in Jack Clayton's 1961 version The Innocents was spot-on). The child actors (Ella Jones and Nilo Mur) are good, and the ghost sightings are fairly creepy, but the sense of tension could be stronger. It's competent, but nothing outstanding. 6/10.

I have always been fond of The Turn of the screw, so I was keen to watch this take on the story. It has a beautiful setting and some strong cast members, BUT! The lead, played here by Sadie Frost, destroys the whole thing. Also, a warning! There is what I felt was a very distasteful scene in it with the children who appear to be naked but covered, alluding to playing out an act they had witnessed between Jessel and Fosc (Quint) that I felt was entirely unnecessary. It could have been implied instead, especially given how young the child actors in this are. If you are like me and love the original tale, avoid this at all costs.

This is an American/Spanish movie adaptation of the classic Victorian ghost story "The Turn of the Screw." I would urge anyone to seek out the wonderful "The Innocents" (1961) version instead of this poor effort. Sadie Frost plays a young governess hired by a rather creepy uncle (Harvey Keitel), referred to as The Master, to care for his orphaned nephew Miles and niece Flora, two young children that live in a large old Spanish villa. The house is haunted by two former employees. The film started off quite disturbingly by featuring the real life bizarre Victorian practice of posing a dressed corpse next to family members in order to be photographed. I watched this on Talking Pictures TV (UK), they rated it 18 but apart from one brief scene of nudity and the suggestion of incest between Miles and his sister I found the film to be rather limp. The scenes showing the two ghosts - one male, one female - were poorly staged and not in the least bit scary. I didn't think much of Sadie Frost's performance, I was pleasantly surprised when she briefly stripped off naked in front of a long mirror though. As far Harvey Keitel, he is only in the film for a few minutes at the start. Look out for the crew member wearing denim jeans next to a horse, he's even looking at the camera! One of the few positives for me was the filming location at the Raixa Estate on the Spanish island of Mallorca, an impressive old house with nice palm fringed gardens. Despite a fairly promising the start the film soon goes downhill and ends disappointingly. There have been several film and TV adaptations of this story, this being the worst that I have seen to date. Watch The Innocents (1961) instead!

I had the privilege to watch the world premiere screening of this film at the San Sebastian International Film Festival. It is a visually stunning film that draws you in from the very beginning. This first-time director from Mallorca, Spain, was fortunate to have two powerful actors in his film - Harvey Keitel and Lauren Bacall - and used them both superbly. Bacall's performance was the most impressive as well as the rich costumes and set designs. Nilo Mur, in the role of Miles, was the surprise enchantment of the film. Don't miss it!