In a Dark Place

"in a Dark Place" with Leelee Sobieski and Tara Fitzgerald is a retelling of the classic Henry James story, "the Turn of the Screw" There have been many incarnations, "The Innocents" with Deborah Kerr being the best. This is very good though.

Leelee plays young Anna Veigh, a nanny assigned to look after two young children, a boy Miles and a girl, Flora, on a remote country estate. It soon becomes apparent that they were abused, as was Anna herself, Mrs. Grose the caretaker, is distant and remote, adding to Anna's misgivings.

The film is stark and sensual. Leelee gives probably her best performance to date, possibly because, as Leelee herself tells us, there is little of her in Anna. Tara Fitzgerald is also a fine actress and really seems to bring everyone's level up in whatever she appears. There is increasing dread to the proceedings that are more psychological than supernatural and the film never loses its edge or its air of creepy self-pleasure.

There is a lesbian subtext that was missing in earlier versions and a good twist as to who the children are really afraid of. The film is moody and subversive but not so obtuse that the viewer is left in the dark too. Due to its subject and certain scenes this isn't really the most comfortable film, but for those who care, both Leelee and Tara give the devil his due with flashes of nudity. All in all I wasn't expecting much from this and so was pleasantly surprised and entertained.

I've heard that the book this film is based on is quite good, although you'd never know it from this screen translation. The movie itself is quite terrible in the way it's delivered. It is the type of film that doesn't tell you everything, and wants the viewer to decide what really happened. However this isn't directed with the skill of a Kubrick or a Bergman, nor is this version written well for the screen, so really the film just leaves you going, "What the ****?". Not even really caring much what happened, nor leaving you with interesting ideas of what may have happened. It's just crap really. The story here is an ugly toad covered in warts, as for the princess. Enter Leelee Sobieski who is the one and only reason to watch this confused effort. If you are a lesbian or a male who likes Leelee, then this will satisfy. Otherwise run from this dark place. To me, Leelee was well worth the watch. In fact I couldn't stop watching her, despite the ridiculousness of the story. Leelee's voluptuous body in itself is a feature presentation well worth the price of admission. Cleavage and curves galore, this is the only film in existence that I can think of where a woman's body completely steals the film, and alone makes it worth while. That is truly the way I felt though. The film's story is laughably stupid, however Leelee's body is nothing short of a masterpiece. And so...the princess saves an ugly toad.

7/10

In A Dark Place would be classed as a psychological horror/thriller. It stars the underrated Leelee Sobieski or as I like to call her Helen Hunts mini-me.

Telling the story of a girl hired as a nanny of two less than usual children at a wealthy estate and her dwindling mental health.

Also starring long forgotten English actress Tara Fitzgerald from the likes of Brassed Off (1996) this is an utter mess of a film from opening credits to closing.

Immensely boring, poorly written and incredibly crappily made In A Dark Place is an instantly forgettable film with practically nothing going for it at all.

The Good:

Leelee Sobieski

The Bad:

Weak writing

Terrible plot

Bad finale

Awful child actors

I was walking past In A Dark Place one day at a rental store and I saw Leelee Sobieski on the cover of the film. It looked something similar to recent movies such as The Return and The Grudge, which I thought both of those films were very satisfying, even though this ended up being nothing like them really, so I decided to give this movie a try.

At first, it looked really cool, when I put it in that is. The first near hour or so were fine, just fine, nothing special, but I was enjoying the build up and performances to an extent. Then, it took a turn for the worst. Everything started going horribly wrong and as the film dragged on I became more depressed, and more depressed with how the outcome of the film was turning out. The storyline just gets so ridiculously poor and overrated, and everything they had built up with mildly entertaining values were thrown out the window near the end of the film.

Why, how, Leelee, I thought you were great! What made you take part in this movie when you saw how the character development is demolished in the last half hour, or did you even notice? Sure, there was some stuff I found in the movie that was entertaining, I have already stated that, but I felt as if my insides were going to explode from how horrible the last half hour of the film was and how horrifically boring and inane Sobieski and everyone elses' character became.

If you love Leelee Sobieski enough, avoid this movie, because I really was expecting more from her and the movie itself seeing as how I enjoy her as an actress. I'm sure her heart will thank you if you don't watch this, for now every time she hears about her role in this film, as often as that probably isn't, I bet she falls to the ground and bursts into tears. . .

This is a very slow moving film, open to all sorts of interpretations. It has atmosphere, some tension and decent performances, and is very well shot, but something is definitely missing.

In the documentary included as an added feature on the DVD, director Donato Rotunno proudly tells us that he made this movie without having read the source material on which it is based, Henry James classic novella "The Turn Of The Screw." Perhaps Rotunno should have read it first. His vision for the project might have been clearer.

Big plus: Leelee Sobiesky is a beautiful woman, and her assets are amply displayed throughout the film.