Review - The Turning (2020)

I'm endlessly fascinated by how many different settings are chosen for adaptations of Turn of the Screw. The time frame of the original story is vague but generally viewed as the mid-1800s, though adaptations may occur at the turn of the century, in the 1920s, in the 1960s, or in this case, in the 1990s. Usually, I search for significance in the chosen time period and consider how the timing affects the story and my perception of the characters. In this case, it appears the filmmakers simply wanted a more modern setting albeit without cell phones or computers; otherwise, I see no relevance.

Kate (Mackenzie Davis) is hired to be a live-in tutor to orphaned Flora (Brooklynn Prince), an unexpectedly charming but troubled agoraphobic little girl, who never leaves the palatial estate where she lives (the location of which we're never told). Just as Kate settles in and starts to bond with Flora, her even more disturbed adolescent brother Miles (Finn Wolfhard of Stranger Things) arrives home after being booted from his boarding school for assaulting another student. This is perhaps the only time Miles's school transgression is clearly established. Kate tries and fails to A) discipline Miles or B) win his trust. Though he's attentive to Flora, Miles's behavior is otherwise threatening, and it's not long before Kate is locking her door at night and looking haggard and red-eyed in the morning after getting no sleep.

In addition to trying to govern her troublesome charges, Kate is bothered by the unknown fate of her predecessor, Miss Jessel, who apparently abandoned her post in the dead of night and left no forwarding information. From speaking to the children and reading Miss Jessel's found diary, Kate learns Jessel was the target of unwanted advances from Miles's beloved riding instructor Quint, who died shortly after she vanished. From these details, nightmares, and waking visions, Kate suspects something violent happened between the two tutors and their baleful presences may linger.

For as many versions as there are of Turn of the Screw, it's also interesting to see how the character of the housekeeper Mrs. Grose is interpreted. Sometimes, she's a warm confidante (Megs Jenkins) and sometimes she's an intimidating bitch (Diana Rigg). Barbara Martin's family retainer is definitely the latter. She acts as an antagonist, undermining Kate's authority and insisting on coddling the privileged children. Her presence is strong and though I didn't like her character, I appreciated the dynamic she added. She definitely kept the movie from being boring.

I enjoyed The Turning up to a point. It's a loose adaptation of the text that uses the set-up of a governess alone with two unpredictable children as a prompt before going its own way. Tent-pole scenes like the sighting of the man on the tower or the woman in the schoolroom, or the confrontation by the lake are completely absent. One of the biggest omissions is the interview sequence that usually opens the story. While the governess in Turn of the Screw is hired by the children's absentee uncle, there's no mention in this movie of who Miles and Flora's guardian is or who exactly hired Kate, which left me with questions. Is there a trustee of some sort? How much authority does Kate have? For instance, could she require Miles to attend therapy sessions, or would she have to apply to someone else to authorize that?

The Turning departs from many other conventions of the source material. As stated before, Quint and Jessel aren't lovers according to this story, but predator and victim. There's no question of whether the kids are allied in a conspiracy with the ghosts. In fact, the presence of the ghosts is downplayed so much as to be negligible. Hostile Miles feels like a more palpable threat. I can imagine viewers unfamiliar with Turn of the Screw wondering if he had killed Quint and Jessel.

Further, the ambiguity of the story--whether the governess is being haunted or whether she's crazy or imaginative--is also dropped. There's a vague attempt to introduce questions about Kate's mental stability by giving her an institutionalized mother, but there's no real suspense surrounding the nature of the haunting until very late in the movie. Personally, I struggle to believe Kate would succumb to the pressures of her job. The governess in the source material was an ingenue who had never left home or held a job before, whereas it's established early on that Kate has been on her own since she was young, has been in charge of her mother's care, and has prior teaching experience. Consequently, I would expect her to be able to tolerate a lot more than a rude housekeeper and a bratty boy.

I've read several reviews deriding the ending of this movie. James's ending is open and, in my opinion, unsatisfying, but the film doesn't bother to follow the book in this regard either. Instead, it takes a major turn that's more in line with the films Next or Identity. It was surprising, but in a disappointing way.

On the bright side, the performances are good. Wolfhard is a stand-out, swinging between vulnerability and aggression. Prince and Martin also offer strong support. Davis is forgettable. Apart from the acting, though, the movie, sadly, is not worth watching.