Voice from the Stone -- a drama, a mystery, a thriller and a romance -- appeals to our feelings, not to our reasoning power. And, surprisingly, that worked for me here. Based on a novel by Silvio Raffo, the story follows Verena, a nurse who helps disturbed children as she takes on the case of a young boy who refuses to talk.

Portrayed by Emilia Clarke (Me Before You), Verena comes across as serious, caring, self-confident – and lonely.  She can’t help being in awe of the old Tuscany mansion where her new charge (Edward Dring/Eleanora) lives with his widower father (the always wonderful Marton Csokas/Aeon Flux). Haunting cinematography by Peter Simonite (The Perfect Guy) makes the viewer feel Verena’s various sensations as she gets acclimated to her new living/working accommodations.

Although competent in her area of expertise, Verena is not prepared for the challenges and changes awaiting her during this unusual assignment.

She’s hired to help a troubled boy

who seems so sad and without joy.

He will not talk or cry or smile

so this job may take quite a while.

His mother died some months before,

and this loss hurt him to the core.

But he still hears his mother’s voice.

Behind a wall is her weird choice.

His artist father also grieves.

Unfinished work now he just leaves.

Can these two be made whole again?

Would loving them be such a sin?

Voice from the Stone offers suspense.

Though some parts fail to make good sense,

gothic romance and mystery

add much to this film’s strange beauty.

Directed by Eric D. Howell (From Heaven to Hell) from an adapted screenplay by Andrew Shaw (Strangers), the movie sometimes seems too slow for comfort. But it is so well photographed that we always have something intriguing to see. And that helps considerably. We also become very interested in how and why the three main characters change during the course of their interactions.

As a ghost story, Voice from the Stone may not be as haunting as The Uninvited or Sixth Sense, but it ends up being quite unique and involving.       

The more enlightened our houses are, the more their walls ooze ghosts. --- Italo Calvino

Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes they win. --- Stephen King

(Released by Momentum and rated “R” for some sexuality/nudity.)

For more information about Voice from the Stone, go to the IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes website.