Henry James's 1898 novella, The Turn of the Screw, shows us that a young boy has the ability to attract the sexual attention of a grown woman. This sick idea is presented throughout the movie.
In the beginning of the movie, The Innocents, directed in 1961 by Jack Clayton, the governess, named Miss Giddens and portrayed by Deborah Kerr, is picked up in a carriage with a young boy named Miles and his sister, Flora, already in it. Miles, played by Martin Stephens, gives the governess a bouquet of flowers, as his sister, depicted by Pamela Franklin, looks on. This gift is not from a bumbling boy, but instead from what seems to be a man with experience who knows what he is doing.
Throughout the movie, Miles insists on calling the governess "My dear" as if she were his wife. At this point in the movie, I continued to watch out for this because I wanted to see where it would end up. Something told me that it would not be pretty, though.
Later in the movie, the governess is in Miles' room. She is tucking Miles in to bed when he decides to give the governess a kiss on the mouth. My jaw dropped open with amazement and disgust. I could not believe my eyes. I was now ready to throw up in my bag of food I brought to enjoy while watching the movie. However, my search for what I was looking for had not ended there.
While the movie pressed on, Miles continues to use the phrase "My dear" in regards to the governess. Then, at the end of the movie, the governess does the unthinkable. When Miles sees the ghost of Peter Quint (Peter Wyngarde), the boy dies, as the governess actually kisses his lifeless lips. That my friend is the most disgusting thing I have ever seen in a movie. First of all, it is a grown woman lustfully kissing a young boy. Second, Miles is dead. I do not think there is much more to say.
All in all, I did not like watching this sexual escapade unfold before my eyes during the movie. I could have passed and watched a movie that would not have made my stomach turn.