The Turn of the Screw

Henry James wrote, perhaps the most famous ghost story in the world: The Turn of the Screw.

The suggestion in the book is that the governess might be having hallucinations brought on by sexual hysteria, OR she might, indeed be caught between the living children under her care, and the dead lovers who communicate with each other through the children.

Benjamin Britten wrote an opera that is absolutely bone-chilling called The Turn of the Screw. Many films have also been made either called The Turn of the Screw or, in a brilliant adaptation, The Innocence.

In The Innocence, Sir Michael Redgrave is the owner of Blye and the person who hires Deborah Kerr to be in complete charge of his niece and nephew.

In this new Masterpiece Theater adaptation, called The Turn of the Screw, Colin Firth plays The Master of Blye who hires Jodi May as governess.

Redgrave is older, detached and uninterested in the workings and daily problems of Blye and simply wants someone to run things for him.

Firth is young and VERY sexy. So much so, that he uses his sexuality to convince a naive and hesitant May to take the position.

This sexual attraction, on May's part, is underlined with a scene where she enters The Master's bedroom at Blye, and touches his clothes.

But the haunting of Peter Quint and Miss Jessel are presented as VERY real, and very threatening.

What is merely suggested in the older Kerr version, is played out with more emphasis in this Masterpiece Theater version.

The sets are lush. The setting beautiful. The children too perfect. Flora is smug and deceptive. Niles is heart-breaking in his corruption.

The question remains. Was the governess mad or was she overwhelmed by the evil of Peter Quint? Were the children possessed or was the governess?

An excellent version, although there are scenes in the Kerr version that are truly jolting.

The 1961 Deborah Kerr vehicle, "The Innocents" went for the

supernatural chills and is likely the best adaptation ever (at least

it's likely the most popular), but this straight-forward rendition of

Henry James' best known short novel is probably the closest to the

author's intentions to date. By sticking with psychological terror

rather than creepy SFX, this production succeeds in portraying a

young woman's descent into madness that too often takes a

backseat to the realm of ghost story in lesser productions. Jodhi

May's wide-eyed performance is nothing short of brilliant. Pam

Ferris and Colin Firth round out the strong supporting cast

(although Mr. Firth is seen only in the first five minutes of film and

nothing more, so you Pride & Prejudice fans beware!).

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.

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.