Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
In post–War England, a writer and sometime-ghost hunter investigates a reported haunting at a boys boarding school.
The Awakening is a handsomely mounted British period ghost story elevated significantly by Rebecca Hall's compelling central performance and atmospheric, beautifully lit cinematography that evokes post-WWI melancholy with real craft. The plot is engaging for much of its runtime, weaving grief, trauma, and skepticism into the haunting investigation. However, the film stumbles considerably in its final act, where the twist-heavy ending becomes convoluted and somewhat unsatisfying, undermining the careful tension built earlier. While well-executed within the classic English ghost story tradition, it doesn't break especially new ground in the genre.