Rating of
1/4
"The Secret Garden" should have remained a secret
The M.O.W. - wrote on 08/02/08
Based on a 1911 novel, "The Secret Garden" is about a spoiled orphan girl (Kate Maberly) who moves into her uncle's home and meets her ill, and quite spoiled cousin (Heydon Prowse). They, along with a boy named "Dickson" (Andrew Knott), discover a garden behind a locked gate that was the favorite place of the ill boy's deceased mother.
In my opinion, this movie is more for women and girls more then men and boys. There is no action, and so little adventure that you will forget about it rather quickly.
To me, the characters were weakly written and pretty much one-dimensional. I could not connect with any of the characters at all. I think that people who have read the novel would have enjoyed the characters much more. In fact, the character development of the supporting characters is quite weak. I would have to say that the supporting characters did little to move the movie along.
The cinematography was not that great. There were no visuals that really stood out. The "Secret Garden" appeared to be cramped in some areas, which limited the camera movements.
The "Secret Garden" is really disappointing in fact. Many sections are quite cramped, and it seriously lacking color. From the looks of it, the "Secret Garden" isn't as magical as it is depicted.
Another problem with this film is that it lags a lot. The pacing is quite slow in many scenes, and makes it appear longer than these scenes actually are.
I also found the wardrobes quite boring. None of clothing looked like they were tailored nicely. To me, much of the clothing looked a little to big for the bodies they were on.
With exception of Maberly and Prowse, not one of the actors stand out. The characters were not well written, which could have been the reason for the actors poor performances.
There is very little suspense, and even less adventure in this movie. Also, there is hardly any special effects, with exception of typical sound effects used to sweeten the audio of the movie.
The score is completely forgettable. It just didn't lend to the magic this movie is suppose to have.
In my opinion, this one should be put on you desperate to see a movie list. I can't recommend it at all.
