Review of The Awakening (2011) by Walter M — 19 Apr 2014

Depending on who you talk to in 1921, Florence Cathcart(Rebecca Hall) is either a hero or the devil incarnate. That's what comes from busting up supernatural hoaxes for a living. For Robert Mallory(Dominic West), she is hope. See, at the boarding school he teaches at in Scotland, there have been reports of a ghost for years that has also recently resulted in the death of a student. At least, when she finally decides to take the case, Maud(Imelda Staunton), the school matron, is also happy to see her, as she is a fan of her work.

On the plus side, "The Awakening" emphasizes atmosphere and psychology over horror in its exploration of broken people putting their lives back together after World War I, dwarfing anything 'Downton Abbey' would attempt on the delicate subject.(And why do we need to invent hell when there are already wars and boarding schools?) All of which gives Rebecca Hall the chance to play the hero for once which she does with verve.

But at the same time, "The Awakening" forgets the first rule of any genre film which is to keep it as simple as possible. The problems start with the awful and cliched introductory sequence which establishes this as a movie that will rely on deception too much for its own good. That leads to the story confusing things so much that it lacks much in the way of common sense. Just because the movie ties itself into a bow instead of a knot, that does not mean it ends on a good note.