It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

The first must-see film of the year.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

A generally disappointing film of Audrey Erskine Lindop's gripping and atmospheric thriller. The book is so much richer and more interesting than this rather bland film. The book has well rounded characters, entertaining dialogue, and a clever plot with many twists and turns. The film oversimplifies the story and completely changes the ending for instance. And while it is easy to see why Len's twin sister has been eliminated (although a good character, she is not really vital to the plot), reducing Len's role to practically nothing completely alters the story, since in the book his interactions with Wynne are a vital part of the plot. And the narrative voice which plays such an important part in the novel, as Wynne describes what is happening and reflects on it, is of course missing, the major drawback of many films of the book. The film also fails completely to capture the character of George, or show convincingly why Wynne is so devoted to him. And the very dramatic climax of the story, with the poignant court scene at the end, is lost. The filmmakers have decided not to bother too much about plot or characters, and simply concentrate on lovingly filming the admittedly gorgeous Jenny Agutter, with all the subtlety of a Cadburys Milk Flake advert. A great disappointment.

I became acquainted with Jenny Agutter a few years ago when I saw her in "Walkabout", playing an Australian child that ran away into the brush with her younger brother after their depressed father tried to kill them. This movie actually predates that one by a couple of years, and is set in England.Jenny Agutter is Wynne, a 15-yr-old school girl in a blended family. Her dad had died some years earlier and he mum remarried a man with a 32-yr-old son. The son is Bryan Marshall as George. The actors playing these two main characters were very near the correct ages.Wynne as pubescent girls often do becomes infatuated with this "older" man, who still lives with them at home. She has the idea that when she gets old enough to marry they can be a couple. She muses that when she is 20 he will almost be 40. She even has daydreams about him kissing her, or walking in while she is in the bathtub.But George is not at all interested in this young virgin girl, he really does seem to treat her as his own little sister. Then something happens, a young girl is found dead in the pond near their old home, Wynne notices a few suspicious things about George, some scratches on his back and some blood on a sweater, and she begins to suspect that he is the killer. But she has no desire to turn him in, she wants to take care of him, "protect" him from those who might want to harm him.So most of the story has Wynne going around being a Nancy Drew of sorts, but out of infatuation for George, not so much to solve a crime.Young Agutter is very good, and in spite of its 40+ years of age plays very well still. I enjoyed it, as a character study of Wynne and he coming of age..SPOILERS: Eventually all the clues about George are explained, and he is pretty much what he seems to be, but also spends lots of time in secret with a suicidal woman to help get her better. George is not at all interested in Wynne or her friends as anything romantic. The bad guy turns out to be the young conductor on the bus they take home from school, he seems to have an obsession with "bad" girls, and Wynne's friend was a flirty girl that always wore very short skirts.

Interesting and attractive ambiance in place of a plot. Adaptation of Audrey Erskine-Lindop's novel concerning a Catholic schoolgirl in working-class Berskhire who is drawn to the now-abandoned first house she lived in with her adoptive family; she also harbors a secret crush on her foster-brother, whom she believes may be a sex-slayer wanted by police, and proceeds to cover up his suspicious tracks while dreaming of a more intimate relationship. In the lead, open-faced, yearning Jenny Agutter has wonderfully wide, girlish eyes and shy smiles; from the opening montage of her daily early-morning routine, Agutter connects with the audience immediately, and she's a joy to follow throughout this character study-cum-psychological drama. Producer-director David Greene is alternately subtle and heavy-handed, telegraphing a few story-points well ahead of schedule, but his lazily-flowing narrative is enticing in an ethereal way. The film has nimble editing and a sing-song theme, yet the screenplay is a real obstacle. While packing so much text and subtext into the first hour, the second-half of the picture comes up short on steam. Nevertheless, quite unusual, with haunting, lovely moments and a solid cast. ** from ****

This movie is awesome. I don't know why it isn't more popular. the cinematography was fab and the lead actress who played Wynne had this real innocence about her, that was so believable. I thought the storyline was great, it was something unusual. the synopsis based it around Wynne's suspicious feelings towards her brother and the murders, but I found it was about something more than that, about the way different people perceive situations and how different peoples duties and commitments can be seen differently in others eyes.The rest of the cast were great. I loved the few parts of humour in the film, that lifted from the somewhat dark and serious theme, and showed how unusual the film is. the theme song I Start Counting was awesome. It was an awesome name for the filmI'm totally raving about this film man. It freaking rules! I love it!