Voice from the Stone

Voice from the Stone is a competent if dull film that tries to capture the feeling of Gothic ghost stories (it borrows a great deal from Jane Eyre and The Turn of the Screw) but ultimately is too weighed down by atmosphere.

Emilia Clarke stars as a nurse/governess in 1950s Italy. She specializes in children with problems, but like Mary Poppins moves on once the child is cured. She ends up at the thousand-year-old home of a sculptor (Martin Csokas) who has been widowed. His wife, a celebrated pianist, has died, and ever since their son has not spoken a word.

Directed by Eric D. Howell, Voice from the Stone makes good use of its surroundings. The overall look is somber--I don't think we see the sunlight, even during the days--and Clarke's performance, in perfect contrast to her ebullience in Me Before You, is leaden.

The plot is up for interpretation. Does the ghost of the boy's dead mother speak to him through the walls? The last shot would indicate something very supernatural has gone on. One question is answered definitively, although if you're on the ball you'll have that figured out.

Good ghost stories are rare in film, and this one is just okay. It is resolutely grim.