Voice from the Stone (2017)

Good concept, poorly executed.

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Set in 1950s Tuscany, Voice from the Stone is the haunting and suspenseful story of Verena, a solemn nurse drawn to aid a young boy who has fallen silent since the sudden passing of his mother. I'm actually one of the few people out there who didn't hate Emilia Clarke as Sarah Connor in Terminator Genisys (2015) but also loved Me Before You (2016). Unfortunately tho both Clarke and Csokas looked and sounded bored, the movie was boring and tried way too hard and nothing was happening for the entire majority of it which made it even worse.

I guess i'm the stupid one for picking it, but my cable service kept pushing this film up the list of Horror titles available on demand and I eventually caved and tried it. It's not a horror movie, but rather a drama with a bit of romance. except on top of that it flirts with some horror ideas and even all but confirms at least one ghost. The ending as well seemed unsure of itself in terms of genre, resulting in a flat-out confusing ending this isn't at all my type of movie, but what tends to really aggravate me is when a movie doesn't seem to know what genre it wants to be, and ends up being not fully committed to any genre in particular. it's almost never worked out for a film

I caught this movie because my GF wanted to see it. I went in without knowing what it was about, but was pleased to see Emilia Clarke was in it. The original premise seemed intriguing, and the setting and cinematography sets the mood for what could have been a very capable ghost story /haunted house movie. The characters are introduced and the scene is set, and then.... nothing. Unfortunately, the pace of the movie slowly plods along, with nary a bit of suspense or fright. No spooky scary things go bump in the night, the characters just bore the audience to tears. If it weren't for the fact that Emilia Clarke is beautiful, I can't see how anyone would spend more than 20 minutes watching this. To make matters worse, her supporting actor is a child who has not a single line of dialog the entire movie (until the very very very end). Most of the movie the two of them just go around listening to holes in walls, to which there are no strange voices, or eerie whispers, just silence... There is also a groundskeeper who doesn't talk very much at all, and the boy's father- one character that does have some lines to deliver. He actually seduces the lovely Emilia Clarke to model nude for him while he sculpts a life-size rock into a statue of her (with a hammer and chisel, from scratch, without any clay mock-ups) while she just lays naked for the audience to feast their eyes on. Then he has a sex scene with her - after all, her clothes are already off, how much more in the mood could she be? And that I suppose is the purpose of and only reason to watch this movie: for the director to have an excuse to disrobe an actress for a gratuitous nude/sex scene, and to see Emilia Clarke naked, which without it would make this movie a 1 star.

Go see this movie for Emilia Clarke's wonderful performance and the haunting atmosphere. Clarke proves that beyond her Game of Thrones fame, she has the acting chops to continue with a great acting career after GOT ends. I loved the atmosphere in this film. However, had the script been stronger, and the direction tighter, the film would have been outstanding. It seems this film will either please or disappoint; it's that kind of film. The moody cinematography sets the tone under mostly overcast Tuscan skies as the young, British nurse Verena (Clarke) comes to the ancestral castle of the recently-widowed sculptor Klaus (played by the excellent but underrated actor Marton Csokas), and his troubled son Jakob, who "hears" his mother's voice in the stones of the house. As this was Eric Howell's directorial debut, I think more credit should be given to what he has achieved; however, where this film falters is the script writing and pacing - perhaps due to the director's lack of experience. That being said, this movie will not be everyone's cup of tea. The slow pacing is deliberate and is an important part of the story, creating mystery and suspense. The history of the house and its somewhat bizarre traditions on which it was built adds a lugubrious tone to the film. As the film builds to a dramatic crescendo, the clever play between reality and fantasy, the sensuality of stone and candlelight, unexpressed desires and dreams, leaves the viewer wondering where reality ends and fantasy begins. I found the last third of the movie very suspenseful. However, the script and direction falter when the movie takes on a more romantic and sensual tone between Verena and Klaus. It could have been more believable had that relationship been better developed in the script as well as reducing one or two scenes between Verena and Jakob. I really thought the love scene was beautifully, sensuously filmed using ab interplay between flesh and the sculptor making stone into flesh. Verena struggles to help Jakob speak after many months of silence and the viewer starts to question whether the story is only about Jakob's struggle, or Verena's, or Klaus' pain - or all three of these elements: is she meant to "cure" Jakob or is she meant to be cured? Too many films nowadays leave you with more answers than questions. I liked that this film does not provide clear answers, which adds to the mystery and moody, romantic feeling that are its hallmarks. Is the ending a figment of Verena's imagination? Will she succumb to the "voice in the stone" ? - or is the ending real ? The viewer is left to make that decision for themselves. As a final note, it is nice to see Marton Csokas play a different role than the usual villain/killer types he seems to be often typecast as: He is an untapped talent, in my opinion and I hope bigger and better roles await him. Csokas makes the most of his lean dialogue and is very believable as the somewhat remote but bitter, grief-stricken Klaus - struggling to understand his silent, traumatized son. I give this somewhat uneven film debut two thumbs up for the acting and atmosphere alone.