The Awakening (I) (2011)

In 1921, England is overwhelmed by the loss and grief of World War I. Hoax exposer Florence Cathcart visits a boarding school to explain sightings of a child ghost. Everything she believes unravels as the 'missing' begin to show themselves.

Director:

Nick Murphy

Writers:

Stephen Volk (screenplay), Nick Murphy (screenplay)

Stars:

Rebecca Hall, Dominic West, Imelda Staunton

4 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rebecca Hall	...	Florence Cathcart
Dominic West	...	Robert Mallory
Imelda Staunton	...	Maud Hill
Lucy Cohu	...	Constance Strickland
John Shrapnel	...	Reverend Hugh Purslow
Diana Kent	...	Harriet Cathcart
Richard Durden	...	Alexander Cathcart
Alfie Field	...	Victor Parry
Tilly Vosburgh	...	Vera Flood
Ian Hanmore	...	Albert Flood
Cal Macaninch	...	Freddie Strickland
Isaac Hempstead Wright	...	Tom Hill
Anastasia Hille	...	Dorothy Vandermeer
Andrew Havill	...	George Vandermeer
Joseph Mawle	...	Edward Judd

Storyline

In 1921, in London, the arrogant and skeptical Florence Cathcart is famous for exposing hoaxes and helping the police to arrest con artists. The stranger Robert Mallory tells her that the headmaster of a boarding school in Rookford had invited her to travel to Cumbria to investigate a ghost that is frightening the pupils to death. He also tells that many years ago there was a murder in the estate and recently pupil Walter Portman had died. The reluctant Florence finally accepts to go to Cumbria. On arrival, she is welcomed by governess Maud and the boy Thomas Hill. Soon Florence discovers what had happened to Walter and then the students, teachers and staff are released on vacation, and Florence remains alone with Robert, Maud and Tom in the school. Florence is ready to leave the boarding school when strange things happen, leaving Florence scared.

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Plot Keywords:

school | boarding school | ghost | teacher | england | 

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Taglines:

All the children are gone... except one.

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violence and sexuality/nudity

Details

Official Sites:

BBC [United Kingdom] Official site

Country:

UK

Language:

English French

Release Date:

11 November 2011 (UK)

Also Known As:

Buđenje

Filming Locations:

Berwickshire, Scotland, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

StudioCanal, BBC Films, Creative Scotland

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

(at around 20 mins) When Miss Cathcart is investigating the classroom where many of the ghost sightings occurred, for a brief moment on the chalkboard behind her there is a quotation that says: "They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old." This is a line from the poem "For the Fallen" by British poet Laurence Binyon. Published in 1914, it was meant as an ode to the British soldiers dying in the First World War. This hints, among other things, at connections to the boys who were shown earlier in the film in the school photos, many of whom presumably died during the War.

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Goofs

When Florence went into the hidden compartment and found the stuffed rabbit, the rabbit played a recorded song. At this point in history, toys only contained small music boxes, which played chiming music. The closest thing was the "Lioretgraph Jumeau" which sang a maximum of 35 words using a small phonograph. More advanced singing toys didn't make their appearance until the late 1930's and early 40's.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Vera Flood: [answering the door] Miss Simpson? Are you prepared?
Florence Cathcart: [yes] I brought this.
[shows envelope]

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Connections

Referenced in Bad Movie Beatdown: Review of 2011 (2012)

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Soundtracks

"Oh Coccinelle"
Written by Nick Murphy
Performed by Nick Murphy

User Reviews

A ghost story for grown-ups

Between 1914 and 1919, one million people lost their lives to influenza. Society was more ignorant back then. Science and rational thinking were not then the forces they are today. People were open to anything, including the possibility of ghosts.

Florence Cathcart (Rebecca Hall) stands out in the London of the twenties for being a free-thinker and a debunker of the supernatural. A boarding school teacher (Dominic West) implores her to visit his school following the death of a pupil, where unexplained sightings are being reported.

Florence isn't a total sceptic. She leaves some room for belief, which caused me to note she is agnostic towards ghosts. Essentially, there are two stories. One is concerning the death of the pupil. The other is more interesting and distinguishes it from a deluge of other horror films which have vanished from my mind as quickly as the ghostly apparitions in them. It focuses on Florence herself, and I shall say no more as I will not spoil it for you.

This is not a scary film; there are several portents but few frights. What there is plenty of, however, is suspense. Nick Murphy, in his feature-length debut, also manages to sustain a melancholy mood, crucial for his story.

It's no surprise that Rebecca is the daughter of Peter Hall, founder of the Royal Shakespeare Company. She commands the screen in a way which would cause many of her peers to blush with envy. Her character is a difficult one to personify.

Dominic West, he with the simian countenance from the groundbreaking crime series 'The Wire', is very good as the guilt-ridden soldier-turned-teacher. Imelda Staunton is effective as the school matron. She has that look in her eye which is trying to tell us something.

I'm calling this a grown-up film because the spiritual element becomes auxiliary. Guilt and loneliness take over as leading themes. Murphy has the acuity to drop the ghost story – because otherwise it would be a simulacrum of other period chillers – and focuses on a story of locked emotion. The denouement is clever and original. The penultimate revelation would have been a superb ending on its own, so having a double-twist is all the more impressive.

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