The Awakening

England, 1921. After the war people flock to mediums to speak with their dead, and Florence Cathcart makes her living exposing those mediums one by one. She is called to a boys' boarding school where the pupils say they have seen a ghost and a boy has died. She arrives to uncover the fraud and then meets things she cannot explain. The ending turns on something about Florence herself. It is Nick Murphy's first feature. Rebecca Hall plays Florence, Dominic West the teacher Robert Mallory, Imelda Staunton the housekeeper Maud Hill and Isaac Hempstead-Wright the pupil Tom. Eduard Grau photographed it and Daniel Pemberton wrote the score. Shooting began in July 2010, using locations in London, Cheshire and East Lothian. The budget was 3.1 million pounds and it took roughly 4.4 million dollars worldwide. Rotten Tomatoes sits at 62 percent. Reviews praised the atmosphere and the photography and divided over the pacing and the ending. Murphy said the film leaves the reality of its characters for the viewer to interpret. Who it is for: viewers who like fear built from sound and empty space, and the atmosphere of post-war grief. Who it is not for: anyone needing the ending to resolve. The last ten minutes leave more than one reading open and settle none of them.