This "atmospheric character drama" lacked atmosphere and dramatic impact. I recall when I first saw Paul Thomas Anderson’s _Inherent Vice_ (which I enjoyed) in 2014, a colleague of mine who disliked it couldn't understand my enthusiasm. I tried to explain that reading Thomas Pynchon's 2009 novel would have helped him appreciate the film more, to which he said, "_one shouldn't have to read the book in order to appreciate the film._" I think I responded rudely and may have even thrown things at him at that point. So it was disappointing to watch _The Little Stranger_, a box office failure ($417,000 gross its opening weekend in the US), which is easily the weakest work by director Lenny Abrahamson so far. I really didn’t like it, but those who had read Sarah Waters's 2009 novel claim they would have enjoyed it more if they were familiar with the source material. To them, I can only say – "_one shouldn't have to read the book in order to appreciate the film._" My colleague was right all along. The story is set in Warwickshire, England, in 1948, where Dr. Faraday (Domhnall Gleeson) is a country physician with no clear direction in life. Ever since he was a child, he has desired to be part of the gentry class. In 1919, he attended a party at the wealthy Hundreds Hall estate, owned by the Ayers family, where his mother worked as a maid, and he has been quietly fixated on the house ever since. However, by 1948, Hundreds is falling into disrepair and home to only four people – Angela Ayers (Charlotte Rampling), the matriarch who never recovered from the death of her eight-year-old daughter Susan years earlier; Caroline (Ruth Wilson), her daughter; Roderick (Will Poulter), Angela's son, a former RAF pilot with burns and PTSD; and Betty (Liv Hill), the maid. When Betty becomes ill, Faraday is called, quickly learning that the family is struggling financially while trying to maintain the estate’s social standing. Betty also suggests something isn't right in the house. Offering to treat Roderick's burns, Faraday inserts himself into the family and becomes a regular presence at Hundreds. Things then start to go wrong: a child

Source on TMDB