Black Narcissus Review: 3 Ups And 5 Downs Review

Perhaps due to the extended running time of the remake or some issues unearthed during post-production, there seems to be some serious issues with the internal logic at play here.

Sister Clodagh is immediately threatened by the presence of Sister Ruth with no real motivation. In the original film, Clodagh is forced to take Ruth with her, as Ruth is an insubordinate trouble maker who's "vocation is perhaps not our vocation." Here, she is portrayed as young and naive and perhaps not suited to the difficulties presented by such a remote location, so why take her in the first place? Mr. Dean is also peculiarly written too; in the original he is a nothing more than a pest, flirting with the nuns and frustrating Clodagh as she relies on his local knowledge and as such, can't get rid of him. Here he is a much more romantic character with little to no back story, other than to titillate either us or the nuns but rarely succeeding in both.

In 1947, India was still quite alien to many and this is illustrated in it's outdated attitude; forward to 2020 and the writers still can't find a way to fully examine the nuances of foreign peoples for fear of insulting a culture - we learn little about the locals that populate the region.

The 'hauntings' only ever happen to Ruth, so why is Clodagh so affected by them herself? To reiterate, perhaps the romantic backstory would've suited Ruth better as she seems more susceptible to Dean's silky smile. Clodagh is also in fierce opposition to corporal punishment yet is seen to be self-flagellating; these are small details but affect the general consistency of the production.