Tuesday, January 21, 2014

The Woman in Black Review and Summary



                                                                   
So this movie wasn't that bad. The plot made sense, it moved along at a pretty good pace.  I was never bored or got confused.  There were some creepy and shocking parts that were well done and not too over the top.  It also has an emotional element as well, so have some Kleenex on hand just in case.  Its a pretty good movie, and I'd recommend giving it a try.

Summary:
It starts out with a pretty shocking scene.  Its in England when most people still used carriages and telegrams.  There are three young girls playing tea party with their dolls.  They suddenly stop playing and stare at these 3 big windows.  They then get up in a trance like state and walk to the windows, stepping on and crushing the porcelain dolls and tea sets.  Then they open the windows and jump out, it turns out they were playing in the attic and of course died.

We then go to see Arthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe) getting ready to leave town on business. His son, Joseph, is sad that his dad is leaving again.  He promises his son they will only be apart for two days before his son and the nanny meet him at the coastal town he is being sent to, so they can have a small vacation.  His son shows his dad a picture of him, his dad, the nanny, and his mom in the sky above them.  Arthur then has a flash back to when his late wife, Stella, died after giving birth to Joseph.   

Next Arthur is in his boss' office.  They are discussing that he will be going to settle a recently deceased woman's estate.  There is a man that lives in the town that is supposed to be going through all the paperwork in the house, Mr. Bentley, but hasn't made any progress.

So he gets on a train where he meets an old man named, Mr. Daily.  This man turns out to be a rich guy and owns the only car in the town.  He offers to drive Arthur to the Inn because of the rain, and says if he wants he can join him and his wife for dinner sometime.  He makes it the Inn and finds his room reservation didn't go through, and has to sleep in the attic.  Yes, this is the attic where the three little girls jumped from.  There are still doll and tea sets everywhere.  The innkeepers will only let him stay the one night, and tell him he should just take the train back home.

He gets up and goes to meet with Mr.Bentley to discuss what has been discovered already and to ride with him to the estate.  Mr. Bentley tells Arthur that all the paperwork has just been sent to the firm and that he should just go back.  He even has a a carriage outside, paid and waiting to take him back to the train station.  Arthur persuades the driver to take him to the estate, which is right on a moorland and marsh.

He lights the candles and starts to go through all the papers, that are scattered all over the huge house.  After a while he looks out the window into the graveyard on the property and sees a woman dressed in black funeral attire.  He of course then runs out to find out who it is, and finds nobody.  The carriage driver then comes and takes him back to town, and he heads straight to the Constable.  The man goes in the back rooms to look something up and then two young boys and a girl come in.  The girl is obviously sick, and one of the boys says that it's his sister and that she drank lye soap while their mom wasn't looking.  There isn't anything he can do but yell for the Constable to come back out, but it's too late and she dies.  Everyone in the town then starts giving him dirty looks.

Arthur runs into Mr.Daily at the cemetery.  Mr.Daily tell him about how his son died when he was young, and then they head to Mr.Daily's house for dinner.  He meets Mrs.Daily, who has 'the twins' join them for dinner (two adorable chihuahuas in sailor outfits that sit in high chairs with bibs).  His wife asks about Arthur's family and son.  She then has an episode where she seems possessed, picks up her knife, and starts carving into the table.  Arthur spends the night in the Daily home, and he and Mr. Daily discuss ghosts and spirits.  Arthur then reveals his wife died and that he still feels her sometimes.

The next morning Mr. Daily gives Arthur a ride to the estate, and leaves him with his dog (not the chihuahuas).  On the way there, the villagers block him off and tell him to leave, but they fake them out and get there anyway.  Mr.Daily then mentions the curse about the Lady in Black.  Every time she is seen by someone, a child dies. 

Arthur then sees the woman again over the course of the night and sees people coming in from the ground. He finds out that the woman who owned the estate had a sister.  This sister had a son, but the woman had her declared mentally unfit and gained custody of him.  One day when they were riding home on a carriage, they sunk into the moor.  The carriage, horses, and the boy sunk down and couldn't be found or saved.  The sister blamed the woman and killed herself in the estate. She was also furious they couldn't find her son's body and give him a proper burial.

Then when Mr.Daily drives him back into town they pass the Bentley's house and see it's on fire.  Arthur rushes in and tries to save the girl they said was trapped inside.  When he finds her she is just standing there with a lantern and staring at him.  Then he sees the Woman in Black behind the girl and she smashes the lantern on her feet and is covered in flames instantly.

Arthur talks to Mrs.Daily and finds out her son was taken by the Woman in Black and that Mr.Bentley had lost another daughter before.  She then becomes possessed again by her son, that tells Arthur the Woman made them kill themselves because she is mad about her son.  He comes up with a plan and asks Mr. Daily to help at the estate that night.

They use the car to go and pull the boy's body out of the ground and lay him on his bed inside.  He then makes it so the Woman sees him and can be reunited again.  So they think everything is good and over.

The next day Arthur goes to the train station to pick up his son and the nanny.  While he and the nanny are talking to somebody the little boy goes down onto the train tracks in front of a train.  Arthur runs and tries to get him out before the train hits them.  They then are reunited with Stella.  As the reunited family walks off, The Woman in Black smiles and watches them.

Was it scary?  Not really.


Did it have creepy old vintage wind up toys?  Too many...




No comments:

Post a Comment