Slipping between the 1940s and the Napoleonic era, the tale of Mancunian evacuee Alex Etel's encounter with a spectral black page boy brought back from the West Indies by his ancestor is complex, but compelling. Adapted from the children's novel The Chimneys of Green Knowe, it will probably appeal less to modern kids than grown-ups raised on Lucy M Boston's atmospheric stories about a magical manor house. Nevertheless, writer/director Julian Fellowes invests the action with plenty of nostalgic warmth and his restrained use of special effects is admirable. Dominic West steals scenes as the villainous butler, who hatches a plot to harm Etel and his 19th-century friends, while Maggie Smith exudes wistful affection as Etel's grandmother, who knows everything about the family's history and is never surprised by her home's capacity for enchantment and adventure.

A haunting ghost story spanning two worlds, two centuries apart. When 13 year old Tolly finds he can mysteriously travel between the two, he begins an adventure that unlocks family secrets laid buried for generations.