We Have Always Lived in the Castle [DVD]

Taissa Farmiga delivers a brilliant performance in this adaptation of Shirley Jackson's 1962 novel. All of the acting is great in this film, but Taissa is the standout by a mile. Great direction and cinematography as well.

The actress playing the quirky Mary Cat was outstanding. Protecting her exquisitely lovely sister, Constance. I read the story by Shirley Jackson in the 80's, and freaked out my boyfriend. LOL.The movie made it clearer ~ or maybe it is more clear to me now, because I'm mature.The cousin was annoying, but I don't like violence; I loved the kitty and the forest outside. I was concerned about the kitty, "Jonas". Being an animal lover, I'm always concerned for the safety of any animal. I think Jonas was okay.Poignant ending. Such were the writings of Shirley Jackson...RIP.

I bought this movie for my teacher husband who’s teaching the book to his high school students.

okay so spoilers ahead. The main character sagatoged her sister getting away from what appears to be controlling parents by telling the father that Constance (the older sister) was going to run away with her boyfriend. Merricat is a villain and Constance is weak minded and pathetic. Merricat kills the whole family except for Constance so that she can keep Constance all to herself. Yup, that's natural. Two sisters with each other for eternity. Might not be so bad except for the fact that Merricat is a psychopath that is obsessed with her older sister. Merricat is into spells and witchcraft as well not to mention the fact that the girl never will wash her hands watching the water waste down the drain. Grows. Just grows. I feel sorry for the weak minded Constance and for Merricat.One movie recap was saying one of the male cousins was beating Merricat. Ummm, I saw the scene and that is not beating and besides Merricat is a villain. She set fire to the house, opening everything up for everyone to take their money and stuff. Pathetic Constance never quite puts it together in her poor sad brain that Merricat never came forward about poisoning their parents letting Constance take the fall for it. Constance never quite puts it together that her sister, Merricat set fire to the house.I could not get my head off of the idea that Merricat would Never. Ever. Wash. her hands. Want some poop, ring worm, boogers, c-diff and other friendly items all over the house? Merricat is your girl. Merricat was constantly messing around with weird items in the dirt. Not flowers, not treasure, just weird spell crap that only worked to get more of her family killed destroy their home and any future poor Constance might have. Merricat is the most unlikeable, grows and boring villain that I have ever encountered in a movie. Hannibal Lector is preferable and much more interesting. Any other villain would be better. If you are going to be a villain, at least be interesting. I wasted so much time on this movie that I decided I would write a bunch about it so after reading my review, someone else can feel and know the disgusting waste of time I experienced. They should pay people to watch this.

How this movie was made is a grand question. Its filmed in Ireland and has a strong cast. The set design and re-creation of a 1960’s Village was expensive Im sure.But there’s simply not enough story to make it all work. I wish this effort had gone to making a gothic horror movie, instead of an eccentric Shirley Jackson novel.The novel may have been great. Unfortunately, it didn’t translate to film.

Brilliant Performances! Laughed out loud and had several OMG moments even though I kind of knew how it would end This is one of my favorite novel to film adaptations. Sebastian Stan is Brilliant and Crispin Glover is genius seriously The editing is great too! One must be intelligent to really appreciate where Shirley Jackson was going with this one so I'd watch it twice and read the book. One things for sure My family as weird and dysfunctional as they are, seem Brady Bunch normal when it comes to the Blackwoods LOL! Enjoy!

There is suspense & drama & mystery but this is not a horror movie. That didn't matter as it was still very good. Creepy would be a better description then horror. Acting and cinematography were great and having the movie take place in the late 50s or early 60s kept the characters from being glued to the smart phones. Very little to no profanity which is very uncommon for a movie nowadays. It will not be to everyone's liking, but if you enjoy quirky odd characters and fine performances then enjoy.

I'm not in the least surprised at the negative reviews. Having watched the movie the same day I finished the book, the liberties taken with the story were obvious and they were all bad, which only added to the confusion that other reviewers expressed. My list of specific complains is long, so I'll try to be brief. Suffice it to say that the movie was much too short to adequately deal with the complex narrative of Mrs. Jackson's beautifully written and wonderfully nuanced story. This movie lacks any of the nuance and complexity of the novel. That's the problem with movie adaptations in general, but unlike some other adaptations of novels, this film wasn't even interesting. If you're going to rewrite a novel for the big screen, at least go far enough from the original narrative to make the story compelling. That didn't happen here. While sticking to the bare bones of the original story, the producers, director, script writer, or whoever, failed to create a narrative that was anywhere near as interesting as the novel. And because those responsible failed to create an interesting reinterpretation of the old, it's no wonder those having watched it without having first read the novel were confused. I predicted as much while still watching the film. And speaking of narratives, this movie could easily have been -- and should have been -- a 2 1/2 or 3 hour film. And like the book, it should have been narrated all the way through by Merricat. This movie failed to let Merricat tell the whole story. Hell, it barely let her speak. No wonder viewers were confused.

最初に、本製品は輸入版なので、日本語・英語とも字幕は無い。原作を読んだ人向けの作品。映画の内容はラスト1箇所を除きシャーリー・ジャクソンの同名の原作をほぼ忠実に映像化している。同じ原作者の「たたり」と異なりミステリー風サスペンスでありホラーではない、その為映像としては怖く無いが、怖いのは...内容は未解決の資産家一家皆殺し事件の生存者3人、姉妹と叔父（全員心を病んでいる）が、地域住民達から迫害され、孤立しながらも残った邸宅で一見平穏に暮らしている。しかし、姉と叔父は心身の障害から外出できないので、生活必需品の購入は唯一外出可能な本作の主人公である妹（通称：キャメロット）、が毎週火曜日に行っているが、彼女はそのために住民達の悪意を一身に受け、結果一番心を病み、愛する姉以外の全ての人間を憎み、また部外者に襲われぬよう敷地に結界を貼っている。そこへ財産目当ての従兄弟の男（正常者）がやって来て、巧みに愛する姉を誘惑しようとするので、主人公の彼への憎みは昂まり、彼女の行動はエスカレートし、歪んでいながらも平穏な日常が崩れ始める...「この家はまるで〇神病院だ」（従兄弟）｡本作で一番怖いのは主人公の狂気ではなく、正常者（と思っている）普通の人々の心に潜む悪意だ。物語のクライマックス、主人公が従兄弟への憎しみのあまり彼の部屋で火災を起こすが、集まってきた住民達は彼女たちを助けるどころか歓声を揚げて憘び合い、さらには炎上する邸宅に乱入し略奪・破壊さえ行う。狂乱の一夜が明け、残された姉妹は再び自分達の「城 」での生活に戻っていく （叔父は自室に鍵を掛け、煙に巻かれて死ぬ）。「理由はどうあれ、地域社会から弾き出されてしまった者には、安住の地は、例えそれが歪んでいたとしても自分達の世界「城」しか無い」｡というのが本作のテーマであるのと思う。原作・映画共に主人公の始点から描かれるので、「たたり」同様ヘンリー・ジェームスの「ねじの回転」と比較され、「主人公妄想説」と捉える人もいるが、物語の構造が全く異なるので、自分はこれは現実世界での物語であると思う。原作者のジャクソンは人の心に潜む狂気や悪意を巧みに描く作家であるが、ジェームスのように実は簡単な物語を高度な技巧で盛付けする人では無いと思う。ともあれ「人間は怖い」、ということを改めて実感させられる良作であった。

...war ich auch, allerdings hat mir viel an dem Film auch sehr gut gefallen. Was mir sehr gut gefallen hat war die Darstellerin der Constance, sehr passend und überzeugend gespielt. Merricat jedoch fand ich weniger überzeugend, im Buch hat sie etwas "hexenhaftes", was mir hier ein bisschen gefehlt hat - trotz der Anwendung der Zaubersprüche und der vergrabenen Gegenstände im Wald - es ist aber auch wahnsinnig schwer das angemessen wiederzugeben. Ansonsten hat die Stimmung nicht 100% übergegriffen im Gegensatz zum Buch - Vetter Charles ist im Buch ein recht dicker Mann, der Merricat immer sein "dickes böses Gesicht entgegenstreckt" ;-). Trotzdem ein gelungener Film, der zwar für mich etwas oberflächlich bleibt, den ich aber gern wieder ansehen werde. Trotzdem bemüht er sich nah am Buch zu bleiben und außerdem relativ inhaltsgetreu die Geschichte zu erzählen. Gewisse Elemente fehlten zwar, das war jedoch zu erwarten.5 Sterne hier für Alexandra Daddario (die ich außerdem äußerst hübsch finde, aber das nur am Rande) und eher 3 für Taissa Farmiga. Das liegt aber eher daran, dass es auch sehr schwierig sein muss, einen verkorksten und teilweise verdorbenen Charakter wie Merricat darzustellen, der darüberhinaus stets nah am Abgrund wandelt.

This movie is wonderful ! Came in excellent, unopened condition! This company did an amazing job! Thank you, will be buying from again

Came a bit late, but well worth it awesome film. Thanks