The Awakening (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
Isaac Hempstead Wright	...	Tom Hill
Shaun Dooley	...	Malcolm McNair
Joseph Mawle	...	Edward Judd
Diana Kent	...	Harriet Cathcart
Richard Durden	...	Alexander Cathcart
John Shrapnel	...	Reverend Hugh Purslow
Cal MacAninch	...	Freddie Strickland
Lucy Cohu	...	Constance Strickland
Anastasia Hille	...	Dorothy Vandermeer
Andrew Havill	...	George Vandermeer
Tilly Vosburgh	...	Vera Flood
Ian Hanmore	...	Albert Flood

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:

ghost | murder suicide | female paranormal investigator | twist | school | 

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

The location used for the school, the Mansion of Lyme Park in Cheshire, was also used as Mr. Darcy's estate, Pemberley, in the 1995 BBC series starring Colin Firth.

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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 photograph of a soldier]

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Crazy Credits

[opening title] Observation: Between 1914 and 1919, war and influenza claimed more than a million lives in Britain alone. Conclusion: This is a time for ghosts. Florence Cathcart "Seeing Through Ghosts" p7

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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 must see for those who like being intrigued

I can't believe I almost didn't see this movie based on the lower rating and negative reviews. What a shame that would have been! There are always plenty of long reviews, so I won't bore you with mine.

This movie was absolutely wonderful. It has some drama, suspenseful music and scenes from start to finish, and even a bit of romance (but not nearly enough to make this a romantic or "chick" movie).

Each of the chosen actors were perfect for their part and they portrayed assigned characters beautifully. They were very likable and believable.

I'm not going to compare this movie with any other, but if you're like me and love movies such as The Sixth Sense, Shutter Island, Inception, Dream House, etc... I promise you will love this movie as well. You also, like me, may decide to immediately watch it the 2nd time to see if there are any clues you missed preparing you for the last 15 minutes of movie.

Out of over 700 movies in my collection, only 32 have a 10 star rating. This movie comes VERY close to that category. Definitely a must see!

Details

Official Sites:

BBC [UK] Official site

Country:

UK

Language:

English French

Release Date:

11 November 2011 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Awakening

Filming Locations:

Berwickshire, Scotland, UK

Box Office

Budget:

GBP3,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$95,933, 19 August 2012

Gross USA:

$209,696

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$6,879,667

Company Credits

Production Co:

StudioCanal, BBC Films, Creative Scotland

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1