 The Turn of the Screw ( also known as Ghost Story : The Turn of the Screw ) is a British television film based on Henry James 's 1898 ghost story of the same name . Commissioned and produced by the BBC , it was first broadcast on 30 December 2009 , on BBC One . The novella was adapted for the screen by Sandy Welch , and the film was directed by Tim Fywell . Although generally true to the tone and story of James 's work , the film is set in the 1920s — in contrast to the original 1840s setting — and accentuates sexual elements that some theorists have identified in the novella . The film 's story is told in flashbacks during consultations between the institutionalised Ann ( Michelle Dockery ) and Dr Fisher ( Dan Stevens ) . Ann tells how she was hired by an aristocrat ( Mark Umbers ) to care for the orphans Miles ( Josef Lindsay ) and Flora ( Eva Sayer ) . She is met at the children 's home , Bly , by Mrs Grose ( Sue Johnston ) , the housekeeper . Ann soon begins to see unknown figures around the manor , and seeks an explanation . 
