‘Voice from the Stone’ is a gothic drama starring Game of Thrones’ Emilia Clarke as a nurse who is hired to look after a young boy who stops speaking after his mother dies. As she spends more time there she becomes more like his mother, eventually wearing her clothes and taking on her role. While the film is visually beautiful and does a great job creating a gothic atmosphere through the setting and costumes, that is as far as it goes. The narrative completely lacks tension, and the characters aren’t particularly likeable which gets in the way of being able to sympathise with them.
Clarke is good in her role but the character is annoyingly smug, so it’s difficult to connect with her or root for her. She doesn’t do anything particularly amazing for the child, Jakob, either – his father even comments that she’s just like the other nurses that came before her and it’s difficult to see how she could be any more special. Furthermore, it’s hard to tell whether her taking Jackob’s mother’s role is meant to be shown in a positive or negative way; I interpreted it as being shown as positive in the end, which was very off-putting. Maybe this was how it was intended to make the audience feel and I’m completely missing the point, but it’s difficult to tell what the film is going for.
In addition, the film feels very repetitive until the final act. Not much happens other than Verena looking for Jakob, Verena finding Jakob, Jakob running off, then rinse and repeat. There’s nothing to take an interest in, no emotional investment in the characters except possibly Jakob at a stretch, but the narrative doesn’t go deep enough to be able to really care. Therefore, the film drags on despite its short run time, and I came out of it feeling completely indifferent to it.
Overall, the film is visually pleasing but lacks substance. The story needed better pacing, more tension and a clearer message as well as more likeable characters. Although I was excited about watching the film and wanted to enjoy it, it was difficult to feel anything other than indifferent afterwards.
Clarke is good in her role but the character is annoyingly smug, so it’s difficult to connect with her or root for her. She doesn’t do anything particularly amazing for the child, Jakob, either – his father even comments that she’s just like the other nurses that came before her and it’s difficult to see how she could be any more special. Furthermore, it’s hard to tell whether her taking Jackob’s mother’s role is meant to be shown in a positive or negative way; I interpreted it as being shown as positive in the end, which was very off-putting. Maybe this was how it was intended to make the audience feel and I’m completely missing the point, but it’s difficult to tell what the film is going for.
In addition, the film feels very repetitive until the final act. Not much happens other than Verena looking for Jakob, Verena finding Jakob, Jakob running off, then rinse and repeat. There’s nothing to take an interest in, no emotional investment in the characters except possibly Jakob at a stretch, but the narrative doesn’t go deep enough to be able to really care. Therefore, the film drags on despite its short run time, and I came out of it feeling completely indifferent to it.
Overall, the film is visually pleasing but lacks substance. The story needed better pacing, more tension and a clearer message as well as more likeable characters. Although I was excited about watching the film and wanted to enjoy it, it was difficult to feel anything other than indifferent afterwards.
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