Movies

Rebecca Hall stars as Florence Cathcart an educated woman who debunks spiritualists. The movie opens with a seance in 1921 London. Our heroine springs into action.She is then requested to come to an orphanage where a ghost of a boy has been spotted and photographed. She dismisses the ghostly images, and accepts the task. Florence is an independent and educated woman, who smokes. She reminded me of Anne Hathaway in this role. As her investigation proceeds, Florence begins to doubt her skepticism/atheism.Interesting film with a twist that has clues. Good use of sound. Enjoyable.PARENTAL GUIDE: Sex and nudity (male and female)

This film is set in a post-World War One society, devastated by loss and alienated from traditional Christian answers about the afterlife. The settings, context and costumes are done perfectly. The tensions between the situation and characters develop quickly, with the help of some genteel and understated movie tropes. But it is in the these tropes that it loses its way somewhat, and towards the last quarter IMO it loses its way royally. Take a pick n mix from haunted doll house, weird kid, who's a ghost, repressed memories and crazy ladies and you can have the awakening of your choice.....

Ghost debunking author, spiritual hoax nemesis and early benefactor of the suffragette movement, Florence, is invited to a boys boarding school where the children are terrorised by a phantom child and the teachers by the aftermath of WW1. She is to debunk the ghost story and return the school to business as usual.A rational explanation quickly reveals itself, through the simple application of Holmesian deduction, a chemistry, set and some bells on strings. However, haunted by her personal sense of guilt and loss, Florence finds the rational solution unsatisfactory and searches instead for an antidote to her own suffering.Haunting cinematography, a strong cast and a story line which supports both suspense and character depth, enable this film to stand alongside "the orphanage" and "the Others" rather than being shadowed by them.Winner of the Jury Prize at the Gerardmer Film Festival in France.