Turn of the Screw (2009)

A year before 'Downton Abbey' Michelle Dockery and Dan Stevens appeared together in this BBC adaptation of the Henry James novel 'Turn of the Screw'. Updated from the 1890's to the 1920's this is a ghost story many of whose beats have been repeated ad nauseam in the subsequent century or more, as a result this is not as effective as it should be because James really pioneered a lot of this stuff. What I really liked about it however was the ending, which interestingly has not been done to death, that really elevated it. A fair amount of what is in this movie is more creepy if you think about, however this presentation lacks emotional punch, which may be a result of the original novel which I suspect would be a little removed and understated. Reasonably creepy kids, Dockery's good, Stevens has little to do. **1/2