Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Bessie Smyth Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Yash Wade Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

louiseculmer A generally disappointing film of Audrey Erskine Lindop's gripping and atmospheric thriller. The book is so much richer and more interesting than this rather bland film. The book has well rounded characters, entertaining dialogue, and a clever plot with many twists and turns. The film oversimplifies the story and completely changes the ending for instance. And while it is easy to see why Len's twin sister has been eliminated (although a good character, she is not really vital to the plot), reducing Len's role to practically nothing completely alters the story, since in the book his interactions with Wynne are a vital part of the plot. And the narrative voice which plays such an important part in the novel, as Wynne describes what is happening and reflects on it, is of course missing, the major drawback of many films of the book. The film also fails completely to capture the character of George, or show convincingly why Wynne is so devoted to him. And the very dramatic climax of the story, with the poignant court scene at the end, is lost. The filmmakers have decided not to bother too much about plot or characters, and simply concentrate on lovingly filming the admittedly gorgeous Jenny Agutter, with all the subtlety of a Cadburys Milk Flake advert. A great disappointment.

moonspinner55 Interesting and attractive ambiance in place of a plot. Adaptation of Audrey Erskine-Lindop's novel concerning a Catholic schoolgirl in working-class Berskhire who is drawn to the now-abandoned first house she lived in with her adoptive family; she also harbors a secret crush on her foster-brother, whom she believes may be a sex-slayer wanted by police, and proceeds to cover up his suspicious tracks while dreaming of a more intimate relationship. In the lead, open-faced, yearning Jenny Agutter has wonderfully wide, girlish eyes and shy smiles; from the opening montage of her daily early-morning routine, Agutter connects with the audience immediately, and she's a joy to follow throughout this character study-cum-psychological drama. Producer-director David Greene is alternately subtle and heavy-handed, telegraphing a few story-points well ahead of schedule, but his lazily-flowing narrative is enticing in an ethereal way. The film has nimble editing and a sing-song theme, yet the screenplay is a real obstacle. While packing so much text and subtext into the first hour, the second-half of the picture comes up short on steam. Nevertheless, quite unusual, with haunting, lovely moments and a solid cast. ** from ****

ronbus I saw this film when it was on General release, and was somewhat taken-a-back by the acting ability of its very young leading Lady. Jenny Agutter was superb in the role of Wynne, a teenager who thought her step brother to be involved in some killings, and left nothing about her character's thoughts to the imagination. "I start Counting" was, of course, very different from M/s. Agutter's later work; and, to my mind, the character had more punch than many of her later portrayals. Perhaps, only her portrayal of the eldest daughter in "The Railway Children" carried the same amount of convincing charm as her portrayal of Wynne in "I start Counting". For me, Jenny Agutter "shines" in this movie: the storyline is right for her, and she was the right person to play Wynne. I could gladly watch this movie over and over again.

williamhepburn It is a good few years since I last saw this movie but the memory lingers on. I first saw it as a teenager a couple of times but haven't been able to catch it since. Boy it sure was creepy. The whole cast are excellent throughout. Has British television forgotten about this fantastically creepy movie. With the proliferation of movie channels now available surely one of them can secure the rights to show it. It would be even better if it was released on DVD.