The Witches Review

The Witches was released in 1990. The film stars Angelica Houston, Mai Zetterling, Rowan Atkinson, Jasen Fisher and Jane Horrocks.

Here is what I thought was good about the film.

The story - While on holiday in England a young boy discovers that witches are plotting to turn children into mice. The boy, with the help of his grandmother (Zetterling) decides to stop them. I found the story very entertaining, It is certainly very easy to follow and is told very well.  I don't believe I found anything in the film's story that I wasn't pleased with.

Acting - Most of the actors in the film start out well, but some do get better as the film progresses. But the film's best performance is Anjelica Houston. Her acting in the film was very good. She was convincing as the head of a group of witches and it was all very entertaining to watch. She did win Best Actress for her performance and I think she definitely deserved it because of her role in this film.

Screenplay - The film's screenplay was by Allan Scott. I found it to be quite impressive. I especially have to mention that Anjelica Houston's dialogue and actions are perfectly suited to her character. I also believe there is some dialogue from Rowan Atkinson that is perfectly suited to his character which I found both surprising and pleasing.

Cinematography - the film's cinematography is by Harvey Harrison. I was impressed with just about all of the film's cinematography but some shots I especially did take notice of were those of the seaside hotel exterior. They were all very clear shots in which you could see everything very clearly. And since most of the film takes place indoors I was wondering what the cinematographer could do with outside shots.

Music - The film's score is by Stanley Myers. I found it to be perfectly fine but I was especially impressed by the music played during the opening credits. I thought that playing that type of music while the credits rolled was a very good way to set up the film. And as a bonus, you get to hear it again during the end credits.

Here is what I thought was not good about the film.

Conference scene - I do know that this scene is an important part of the film, but I personally felt that it went on for a bit too long and got a little bit boring. However, it is not so boring that the viewer would lose interest.

How long it takes for Anjelica Houston to make her appearance - I do know that Houston is one of the film's leads but I prefer it when the leads all make their appearances as soon as possible so that they may begin their performance and impress the viewer. But as I said her performance did impress me. So I guess apart from taking a while to make her appearance, it all went well for her in the film.

Rowan Atkinson's character - I am aware that I said I was impressed with some of his dialogue, but apart from that I felt that maybe he wasn't the right actor to play a less comic character. Since he was very famous as Mr Bean around the time of this film's release you would think he would rather be in a film and play a character that was better suited to his acting abilities.

Lack of character development - Few characters get proper development in this film. In fact, I think the character with the most development is Mai Zetterling's. We get to hear some things about her past, and that she is missing something that is only made noticeable once. Perhaps someone who could have used a bit more development in the film was the character of Miss Susan Irvine played by Jane Horrocks, especially considering that near the end of the film Horrocks says something that has quite an impact on the personality of her character. But I will also mention that this sudden change to the character is very important to the film's last few minutes.             

Helga's story- right after the opening credits the character of Grandma, whose real name, we learn later, is Helga, tells her grandson a story about her childhood friend who was killed by witches. I found the story sequence to be of mild interest. But what mainly bothered me about it was that it was holding up the main story which is the whole point of the film. But at least the sequence did not last very long and once it was over most of the rest of the film was perfectly entertaining.

In conclusion - this film is very good. As I have said there are things that are wrong with this film but I would not let a few small problems get in the way of my enjoyment. I also think that if the director Nicolas Roeg was trying to make the kind of dark fantasy film that would be remembered and enjoyed years after its release, I would like to think he achieved that and very successfully.



Thank you for reading.