Daniel Radcliffe's 'Woman in Black' is no 'Harry Potter'

Typecasting is a problem for some actors. Once they play a certain type of character, everyone expects them to continue doing that character. Is there something wrong with that? Maybe, but it certainly does not allow for an actor to explore his or her range. Some people don’t mind being typecast, but it can be extremely limiting when trying to expand a career.

Case in point: Daniel Radcliffe. How can he put eight "Harry Potter" films behind him and move on to something else? Not sure, but he's trying to do that (and failing) in the new film “The Woman in Black.”

In this film Radcliffe plays Arthur Kipps, who four years ago lost his wife while she was giving birth to his son, Joseph. He has had it hard and is spending too much time and money trying to reconnect with his wife.

He is given one last chance by the law firm for which he works to show that he can be a valuable employee. He must travel to a remote village and go through the personal papers of a Mrs. Drablow and make sure the firm has her last will and testament. He must leave his son with his nanny for four days, after which the nanny and boy will join him for the weekend.

When Arthur arrives in the village, he is met by townsfolk who want him to turn around and leave. The innkeeper informs him that there is no room for him and that he should go back to the train station and return to London. The innkeeper’s wife puts him in the attic for the night since the weather won't allow him to return to the station right away.

Arthur is determined to finish this assignment, but he must fight the villagers to get to the house where he is to work. While he is in the home, he hears many noises and sees a woman. He hears a carriage wreck on the road in front of the house. When he returns and makes a report to the constable, a little girl comes in who has swallowed lye, and she dies in his arms.

The townsfolk fight even harder, but Arthur manages to get out to the house again so he can finish his work.

Watching this film was difficult because Radcliffe is on the screen almost the entire film. After watching eight Potter films, when Radcliffe is on screen and creepy music plays in the background, a viewer's mind immediately thinks: Where are Ron and Hermione?