Miss Giddens (Deborah Kerr) is a precocious young woman who gets a job as a governess over two young children, Miles and Flora, in a mansion basically uninhabited and neglected by the two children's uncle. Her enthusiasm for the job is quickly met with Gothic horror, however, as the seductive nature of the children, the brooding atmosphere of the estate, and the appearance of things that go bump in the night causes Giddens to believe that the children may be possessed by the spirits of their previous caretakers, a dysfunctional duo of lovers that met untimely demise.
As an exercise in Gothic horror, "The Innocents" is a very well crafted genre piece. Suspense is built slowly as chiaroscuro, editing, and graceful long takes builds up the horror and anxiety in the main character. However, what's strange about this movie is that it pretty much literally is about a woman who suffers from schizophrenia, leading her to kill and damage the children she was attempting to protect. On that note, however, it's very interesting how this movie makes the insane character utterly relatable by maintaining its perspective in her own conscience and imagination, while making all of the truly sane characters by making it seem like they're hiding something.
Part of the reason of this is that Giddens' paranoid schizophrenia rises mainly from the fact that the children she's taking care of are so creepy, plus that they are in such a desolate and disturbing space. It's easier to understand her perspective when a little child is giggling secretly behind a curtain than to get into the children's perspective when they refuse to tell the truth. It's a very interesting exercise which builds very well... to a disappointing ending. At least, however, it did not go "Psycho" and decide to explain itself.
--PolarisDiB
As an exercise in Gothic horror, "The Innocents" is a very well crafted genre piece. Suspense is built slowly as chiaroscuro, editing, and graceful long takes builds up the horror and anxiety in the main character. However, what's strange about this movie is that it pretty much literally is about a woman who suffers from schizophrenia, leading her to kill and damage the children she was attempting to protect. On that note, however, it's very interesting how this movie makes the insane character utterly relatable by maintaining its perspective in her own conscience and imagination, while making all of the truly sane characters by making it seem like they're hiding something.
Part of the reason of this is that Giddens' paranoid schizophrenia rises mainly from the fact that the children she's taking care of are so creepy, plus that they are in such a desolate and disturbing space. It's easier to understand her perspective when a little child is giggling secretly behind a curtain than to get into the children's perspective when they refuse to tell the truth. It's a very interesting exercise which builds very well... to a disappointing ending. At least, however, it did not go "Psycho" and decide to explain itself.
--PolarisDiB