19 - The Innocents

    A lady goes to work as a governess for two neglected children of a wealthy man.  The longer she stays with them, the more she's convinced that ghosts are at work in the house, and that the children are involved.
    Based on The Turn of the Screw.  Whew, this is a good movie.  And I have no idea how I've missed it until now.  It pre-dates The Haunting by about two years, but it's very similar.  They have a similar rhythm and approach to dialogue.  The photography is similarly great.  If The Innocents has a failing, it's that the roots of being a stage play are too obvious.  There are many scenes that are a bit more talky than they should be, but the movie really does a great job once they spread to outdoor locations.
    For a ghost story, it's pleasingly ambiguous.  There are more layers to the story than are obvious, and most of the sub-currents take a long time to recognize.
    One of the weirdest elements is the peculiar relationship between the lead and the male child.  They share two kisses in the movie, both of them uncomfortably long.  I wish I could explain this, but with just one viewing, and not much time put into thinking about it, I have no clue.
    I'm not sure how much I'll come back to this.  Much like The Haunting, I have nothing but the highest respect for it.  But I have a hard time getting myself to re-watch it.  It probably plays better on a big screen, in a very dark theater.  I probably shouldn't have watched this during the day.