The greatest movie ever made..!

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

I have just watched this film and, after many trials, I feel I have found a decent ghost story with a satisfying denouement - in among all the pap out there at the moment. Bucking the trend (a la the dreadful re-working of Robert Wise's The Haunting) special effects are kept to a minimum, allowing the characters - especially the exquisite Rebecca Hall - to shine through. A hint of 'The Turn of the Screw' at times, but that is no bad thing.

I love the atmosphere and mood of that movie. It is this kind of tranquil, yet suspenseful early 20th century (but in terms of general atmosphere - rather late 19th century) way. It is not as busy as modern times, nor as tech-focused. Things .... takes longer - and a lot of un-explainable stuff - remains a mystery.The protagonist, a very modern, assertive and educated woman, disproves the supernatural.. and from that very stereotypical beginning - it is very obvious .. that she will be kind of "redeemed" by the end of the movie. She will realize that there IS the supernatural.The movie is her process of realizing this ... and i do not quite agree with this progress much. The story starts similar to an investigative movie. She uses devices that are meant to catch the fraud (or the supernatural), she investigates the people around her and all. But foremost ... she did not even want to investigate the site - and i did not quite understand the reason WHY she decided to do it anyway. This decision aside - the investigative part is handled in a rather rushed way. She falls victim to kind of typical horror movie tropes. Her emotions completely blind her rational thinking.Also - and i am absolutely unsure why that is.... for a school that large at that time ... there only seem to be what ... 2 teachers? - Where are all the adults in that school. There is a severe lack of people to talk to - to gain a more objective insight - and she does not even try to gain sufficient information about the few ones that ARE there.So the investigative part of the movie is severely lacking and unsatisfying.Then there is the supernatural part - where she gets overwhelmed by - sadly - there is no better term .... - by jump scares. Many of those are only there for the audience, not even for her (cause there is no way she would have seen them)Her mental progression is a bit too quick for my taste and not quite justified - because at that time - the audience knows way too little about her history. So objectively - she just turns from a rational researcher and fervent denier of the supernatural - to an emotional wreck ... fully believing in the supernatural. - a bit mehh.... .The conclusion is not stereotypical - and i would not even call it bitter-sweet - but rather ... tragic. BUI - it, too .. is insufficiently explained - not to mention that the idea of completely forgetting such a memory is more a trope of cheap "tele-novelas" with their tendency of amnesia. I only saw the movie once - so i am not aware if there were possibly character interaction plot-holes present .. but i give it the benefit of the doubt. Most of those problems are rather minor though for the movie IS enjoyable. The visuals are very nice - and the acting is - for the most part ... alright (a bit overacted for my taste here and there...)

People review this movie good because they think it is so complicated. The movie is not to be understood, this is because things don't match up. People might give the movie a high rating because they don't fully understand the movie, but that's the writer's fault, cause it honestly has a plot that does not make sense. The story line is all over the place and illogical. Even when we are talking about the paranormal, the plot is still really illogical and unclear. The movie is lonely, tedious and has some nice shots that give you a sense of ambiance. But after all it is definitely not strong. Slim entertainment and no wisdom being acquired from this movie. If people are amazed by this movie they haven't seen much other good movies,I have seen plenty good movies and this 1 will get 2/3 stars.

"The Awakening" follows Florence Cathcart, an atheist in 1921 England whose career has been based on disproving faux psychics. She is invited by Robert Mallory, the headmaster of a remote boarding school, to assess the apparent ghost of a child who has been tormenting (and possibly causing the deaths of) the current children. I went into this film a bit skeptical myself, as the plot outline rings of just about every contemporary ghost film out there. This one has the distinguishing factor of being a period piece, which is quite nicely done, and while the film does offer some solid twists and turns, it isn't a landslide success. Where the film does hit its marks is in atmosphere and performances. The cinematography is lovely and the film has a cold, ominous sensibility akin to "The Others." Foggy forests and the empty hallways of the sprawling school lend the film a deliciously creepy atmosphere. The performances are also strong, with Rebecca Hall as a formidable and convincing lead; Dominic West plays her counterpoint as the headmaster of the school.Where the film seems to lose its bearings is in plot and tone. Some have complained that the narrative is convoluted or difficult to follow, which I didn't think was necessarily the case—in fact, that twists of the last half hour were quite intriguing— but it also begins to feel like a film that doesn't really have an identity. It haphazardly turns into a borderline murder-thriller for one moment before reverting back to its original ghost story obligations, and then awkwardly turning inward to Hall's character with a sentimental twist. It is not so much convoluted in terms of narrative, but convoluted in tone; the flashback scenes near the end are also awkwardly edited, which is a shame as they are key to the film's real clout.Overall, "The Awakening," in spite of its shortcomings, is a considerably mature and effective ghost story. It does feel tonally uneven which is probably its greatest pitfall. That said, Hall's performance is great and understated, and the film captures a chilly, early-twentieth-century England phenomenally. It's not a flawless film, but as far as ghost stories go, it's one of the better of its contemporaries. 7/10.