My thoughts on The Woman In Black
Alot of people I think will assume that I went to see this movie because Daniel Radcliffe stars in it. This is not so. I'm a fan of Susan Hill's ghost stories. That was formost in my mind. Daniel Radcliffe was a nice bonus.
Okay, let’s get this out of the way first. They changed the plot from the book! Considering how he story in the book is laid out though, I can understand why they had to change a few things and add a few things. Really, I believe the movie is based off the play which is based off the book. I have never seen the play. So, for a story to jump so many mediums there are bound to be changes. I accept that. I looked it up on Wikipedia, the movie is suppose to be and adaption of the book. I’m going to look at it like how Wicked the Musical is an adaption of Wicked the book: same characters and all that but completely different feels.
It wasn’t even big things that changed. I didn’t like the fact they killed off Stella from the start. I didn’t think it necessary. It changes the whole atmosphere of the story. I think I would have preferred to see Arthur go from being a happy, optimistic person, having this supernatural experience and then suffer the loss of his family. Is it morbid I would have been more entertained by that? I would have just found the shifting of character based on that experience as more gratifying to watch.
Also, the fact that he died at the end made me feel sad for Esme. People that read the books wouldn’t even realize that she existed.
Over all though, it was a good movie. I’d watch it again. It had a lot of bits that were really very creepy. All the Victorian wind up toys, for example, are very creepy. I enjoyed what story they laid out. Some of the characters were very interesting. Like Mrs. Daily for instance. I had only gotten half way through the book when we went to see the movie (It was exceptionally hard for me to find a copy. Apparently it was out of print before the movie was being made). As far as I knew, based on the point I read, Mrs. Daily hadn’t made an appearance. In the book Mr. Daily is the one that explains to Arthur about the woman in Black, not his wife. I thought her characterization was interesting. I thought the hints to mystics and occult with séances in the Victorian years was interesting but seemed like filler. I felt like they could have done more with it.
I am nearly finished the book now. I like Susan Hill’s writing and her ghost stories are creepy but satisfying. I think The Man In The Picture is my favorite story of hers though.
Okay, let’s get this out of the way first. They changed the plot from the book! Considering how he story in the book is laid out though, I can understand why they had to change a few things and add a few things. Really, I believe the movie is based off the play which is based off the book. I have never seen the play. So, for a story to jump so many mediums there are bound to be changes. I accept that. I looked it up on Wikipedia, the movie is suppose to be and adaption of the book. I’m going to look at it like how Wicked the Musical is an adaption of Wicked the book: same characters and all that but completely different feels.
It wasn’t even big things that changed. I didn’t like the fact they killed off Stella from the start. I didn’t think it necessary. It changes the whole atmosphere of the story. I think I would have preferred to see Arthur go from being a happy, optimistic person, having this supernatural experience and then suffer the loss of his family. Is it morbid I would have been more entertained by that? I would have just found the shifting of character based on that experience as more gratifying to watch.
Also, the fact that he died at the end made me feel sad for Esme. People that read the books wouldn’t even realize that she existed.
Over all though, it was a good movie. I’d watch it again. It had a lot of bits that were really very creepy. All the Victorian wind up toys, for example, are very creepy. I enjoyed what story they laid out. Some of the characters were very interesting. Like Mrs. Daily for instance. I had only gotten half way through the book when we went to see the movie (It was exceptionally hard for me to find a copy. Apparently it was out of print before the movie was being made). As far as I knew, based on the point I read, Mrs. Daily hadn’t made an appearance. In the book Mr. Daily is the one that explains to Arthur about the woman in Black, not his wife. I thought her characterization was interesting. I thought the hints to mystics and occult with séances in the Victorian years was interesting but seemed like filler. I felt like they could have done more with it.
I am nearly finished the book now. I like Susan Hill’s writing and her ghost stories are creepy but satisfying. I think The Man In The Picture is my favorite story of hers though.