Review: Woman in Black

Unless you’ve been in Azkaban for the past 10 years, you will recognise Daniel Radcliffe as the star of acclaimed stage productions such as Equus and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. He’s appeared on our cinema screens in 2007’s December Boys, as well as a series of films (based on books) about an orphaned boy who becomes a magician, or something.

This is how James Watkins, director of The Woman In Black, would likely desire us to see his leading man as we sit down to watch his first post-Potter role. From the re-animated corpse of Hammer Film Productions, it is the fifth film since the horror studio’s return in 2007.

Based on Susan Hill’s 1983 novel, The Woman In Black is the eerie tale of young solicitor Arthur Kipps (Radcliffe), who stumbles upon a dark and tragic curse in an isolated village. Kipps is sent by his firm to the north of England (leaving behind his London home and four year-old son) in order to handle the estate of a recently deceased woman. In the same vein as many horrors of this kind, the village locals are defensive and unwelcoming towards him and he gets a few fairly strong hints that continuing his assignment might not be the brightest idea. Undeterred, having befriended wealthy landowner Sam Daily (Ciarán Hinds) and haunted by the memories of his late wife, Arthur finds himself unravelling the dark secret which leaves the inhabitants so fearful of the titular dark-cloaked lady.

In its painfully familiar narrative and dark and dusty ‘haunted mansion’ aesthetic (with, thankfully, no sign of Eddie Murphy), The Woman In Black is not really in any danger of bringing anything new to the table. From the outset we encounter creepy young Edwardian girls that feel plagiarised from Alejandro Amenábar’s The Others, and throughout Watkins’ film the discerning viewer might be forgiven for repeatedly comparing it to other (better) efforts of the genre.

Often accused of the heinous crime of ‘crap acting’ by critics of his role in the Potter films, the mediocrity that befalls The Woman In Black is not down to Radcliffe’s performance in particular. Despite being a wholly unconvincing father (a failing seen previously in the epilogue of Deathly Hallows Part 2), Radcliffe ticks all the remaining boxes required of him as the unwitting protagonist whose good intentions are marred with poor and occasionally idiotic decisions in the circumstances (such as “I think I’ll work through the night.”). Hinds lends some respectability to the whole affair and is arguably the stand-out performer alongside Janet McTeer, who plays his troubled, grief-stricken wife with disturbing frailty.

Other critics looked upon the traditional, old-fashioned approach of this horror as a positive trait, but it is difficult to embrace a creakiness that will leave you a little listless and impatient between the important happenings. While Radcliffe is hardly captivating, he will be happy to have taken his first step away from the long shadow of J.K. Rowling. Fans will hope there are better performances ahead of him (and at 22 years old it’s more than likely) but it’s perhaps better to be forgotten for mediocrity than remembered for abomination.

The Woman In Black (2012)
Dir: James Watkins
95 minutes
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Ciarán Hinds, Janet McTeer.

Written by James Erwin, standing-room-only writer

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