The Film’s Genre, Quality, and Techniques Used in the Film
Innocents was both directed and produced by Jack Clayton in 1961. The film is primarily cited as a work of gothic horror with respect to the work on which it was based, an 1898 novella entitled The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. The screenplay of the film was adapted from a 1950 stage play by William Archibald with the cooperation of Truman Capote with the James novella as its basis (Wellisz, 2022). Much like the early novella, The Innocents also falls under the genre categories of thriller, mystery, drama, supernatural, and narrative fiction. While the work falls under the category of horror, its true essence is better observed through the lens of gothic fiction. As such, many genre characteristics of gothic horror are present within the film.
First, the entire mood and appearance of the film embrace the macabre, eerie, and mysterious nature of the Bly estate and the characters present in the narrative. Mystery and fear are central characteristics of the film, with Mrs. Giddens being the primary victim of illusions, specters, and eventually real horrors. Supernatural activity is also vivid in the film, with ghosts of past manor workers being visible only to a few. A romance is also at the core of the conflict, as the troubles of the manor seem to originate from a dalliance between Miss Jassel and Peter Quint, two deceased employees at Bly.
The film presents many of these characteristics in its traditional manner with appearing and vanishing figures, the strange and ominous behavior of the children, and the increasing emotional distress faced by Miss Giddens, the governess. However, the ending of the film is an extraordinarily intriguing component of the film as it suggests that the conflict may be either supernatural or purely psychological. Unlike the stage play, the film does not state with certainty that the villains are true ghosts but hints that they may simply be a manifestation of the evil within the governess.
The outstanding features of the film include an atmospheric soundtrack, oblique camera perspectives, and the recurring use of shadow. These elements outline the importance of not only the horror but also the sadness that is intrinsic to the story. Both the nature of the current and previous governess’ is problematic and pitiful, while the isolation of the children from the exterior world is morose. The work of shadows is possibly the film’s greatest tool in creating atmosphere and directing the attention of the viewer. The initial forty-five seconds of the film opens with a black screen and singing, leading the viewers to pay attention to the sound and only later be moved to the image.
Because Clayton aimed to achieve a look that was not New Wave, a number of camera techniques were implemented to diversify the film. The cinematograph of Freddie Francis was especially influential. Daytime scenes were overexposed in order to present a feeling of heat and warmth. Night and interior scenes lacked much light and were followed with bright but single-point lighting. An example would be the candelabra carried by the governess, which would hold more than one wick in order to create stark but limited light. Francis also painted the edges of the lenses in order to create a sense of danger lurking just outside of the viewer’s vision.
The film features a number of unique and, at the time, novel editing elements. Jim Clark would work collaboratively with Clayton to create superimpositions and dissolves, which would feature small mortgages in the final work. Crossfades would extend to as much as five or four times longer than a regular mix with subliminal imagery appearing. While the continuous use of such fades was dubbed ‘obsessive’ by some, Clark found them to be thematically relevant to the eerie and unnerving mood of the film. The music was composed by Georges Auric with the song ‘O Willow Waly’ appearing as a frequent motif. Both the motif and the additional music carry a quiet but insistent score. Similarly, the film implemented synthesized electronic sounds, which were first introduced by Daphne Oram and were effective in creating spectral sine tones.
The visual components of the film elevate its thematic impact to an incredibly high level. My favorite aspects of the film were the use of the eerie motif song, the strong shadows as frames for the subjects of each scene, the cross-fades, and the open-ended nature of the narrative. While the pacing of the film is slow, Clayton’s choice to extend minute movements and even stillness add to the complexity of the governess and her uncertainty not only about Bly but also about the children and herself. As the viewer, the vignette effects and darkness convinced me that evil was occurring to the governess. However, when the film ended, it had become just as possible that the struggle was internal.
The Work of the Director and One of the Lead Actors
Clayton’s work is especially impressive because of how involved he was with the myriad of stages of the film’s production. While he is credited primarily as the director and producer, Clayton had worked alongside both Francis with the cinematography and Clark with editing (Dixon, 2019). The detailed approach to the whole work can be seen in the final product, which is cohesive and does not give away the mystery until the very end. Perhaps Clayton’s greatest decision in relation to The Innocents was the choice to leave the mystery open-ended. The lack of a total conclusion has driven critics, viewers, and even academics to contemplate the real source behind the ghosts seen by the governess. Assumptions range from actual supernatural activity to the specters as a symbol for the irrational sexual repression of the governess and the occurring consequences.
Deborah Kerr plays the leading role of Mrs. Giddens or the governess. Kerr’s performance is excellent as she begins as a put-together, kind governess who cares for the children but devolves into a woman frightened beyond reason. In the finale, Kerr is especially effective in completely removing the persona that was prominent at the beginning of the film in order to depict the desperate last stand of the governess. Even more impressive is the subtle panic growing in the governess throughout the film, through her search for the specters and the growing wariness of the children.
The film was both a commercial and critical success. Much of the praise was directed at the performances of the actors and the adaption from both the novella and the stage play. Some reviews were unfavorable, primarily due to the fact that Clayton utilized a psychological component alongside the supernatural. Despite this, the film was seen as a leading example of good horror both upon its release and in the modern era. It is deeply influential on the gothic horror films that followed it.
References
Dixon, W. W. (2019). The Power of Imagination: The Innocents (Jack Clayton, 1961). Senses of Cinema. Web.
Wellisz, O. (2022). How ‘The Innocents’ Perfectly Adapts the Ambiguity of Its Source Material. Collider. Web.