When I saw that I had a chance to review The Secret Garden, screening at this year’s Victoria Film Festival, I was full of anticipation, thinking that with such a beloved classic, it was likely that the original storyline and atmosphere would be respected, and since Colin Firth would be bringing his lovely English ways to grace the production as uncle Archibald Craven, what could be better?
Well, Firth’s performance is nothing to write home about, but the poor fellow had little to work with; however, he is still a highlight of the film. The original story of The Secret Garden follows a misunderstood young girl, Mary Lennox (Dixie Egerickx), to the moors of England to live with her uncle after a cholera outbreak in India has killed her parents. In Craven’s lonely house, she discovers a secret garden that belonged to Craven’s late wife, Lilias. Mary discovers that while she tends the secret garden, she is becoming a nicer, healthier person, and makes some very special friends throughout the story.
Although the film does stick to the primary premise of the original tale, the liberties (if you can call them that) that were taken really ruined it for me. Instead of a wisteria-infused, mysterious, and overgrown English garden, we are surrounded with giant Dr. Seuss-like plants, rainbows and waterfalls, plastic-looking insects, and animated flowers that stand up cheerily when one of the children walk past. The obviously Harry Potter-inspired mansion is dark and gargantuan—you expect a painting to speak to you and a witch to fly through the dusty hallways.
The children in the film have shoddy dialogue, moving from simpering and fanciful to Freud- like, telling each other things like, “I know your father loves you, he is just seeing too much of your mother in you,” because, right, little kids really talk to each other that way.
This movie might be fun for those who have never read the story, but anyone who knows and loves the original book will find it insulting and will probably turn it off before it’s even over.
The colours are pretty, though.
Victoria Film Festival
Online, February 5 to 14
Various prices
victoriafilmfestival.com
No punches pulled. Very incisive.
Very well written review Emily.