As a premise I must say that I generally don't like ghost stories, so I approached Hill House without expecting much. Overall I enjoyed it, although there are some flaws. I'll start with what I didn't like:
a) the extreme slowness of many of the scenes and some dialogues, which at times are drawn out unnecessarily long
b) the repetitive mechanism of disturbing scenes which then turn out to be dreams with the protagonist who awakens with a start. This clichè is used too often
c) In addition to the scenes and some dialogues being too long, the narration of the overall story is also very diluted; a good 30% of each episode is dedicated to shots that slowly advance through the corridors of the house without anything happening. I would have appreciated a greater narrative synthesis
d) The beginning is very scattered and it is necessary to get to episode six to put together the threads of the story (however, this could paradoxically also be a plus point)
Coming instead to what I appreciated, I say:
a) the characterization of the various characters, truly excellent. The brothers and sisters each stand out with their own characteristics both as children and adults, and the same goes for the parents and the few other characters
b) The setting is both spooky and majestic
c) the photography with dark colors to the right point but also luminous when necessary
d) The tragic characters of Olivia and Nell are truly moving and perfectly delineated
e) Episode 5 "The Woman with the Bent Neck", tells Nell's story in a remarkable and moving way ; one of the best episodes of a TV series of all time
f) The figure of the father, almost evanescent at the beginning, is clarified at the end and takes on an unexpected depth.
Overall I therefore appreciated the series, although in my opinion it would have been more effective to concentrate the story in eight episodes.
a) the extreme slowness of many of the scenes and some dialogues, which at times are drawn out unnecessarily long
b) the repetitive mechanism of disturbing scenes which then turn out to be dreams with the protagonist who awakens with a start. This clichè is used too often
c) In addition to the scenes and some dialogues being too long, the narration of the overall story is also very diluted; a good 30% of each episode is dedicated to shots that slowly advance through the corridors of the house without anything happening. I would have appreciated a greater narrative synthesis
d) The beginning is very scattered and it is necessary to get to episode six to put together the threads of the story (however, this could paradoxically also be a plus point)
Coming instead to what I appreciated, I say:
a) the characterization of the various characters, truly excellent. The brothers and sisters each stand out with their own characteristics both as children and adults, and the same goes for the parents and the few other characters
b) The setting is both spooky and majestic
c) the photography with dark colors to the right point but also luminous when necessary
d) The tragic characters of Olivia and Nell are truly moving and perfectly delineated
e) Episode 5 "The Woman with the Bent Neck", tells Nell's story in a remarkable and moving way ; one of the best episodes of a TV series of all time
f) The figure of the father, almost evanescent at the beginning, is clarified at the end and takes on an unexpected depth.
Overall I therefore appreciated the series, although in my opinion it would have been more effective to concentrate the story in eight episodes.
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