Edge of the Garden

This was really good for a made-for-TV production. I've actually seen it a couple of times now and I just love the time travel/ghost element. It's along the lines of the classic heartbreaker 'Somewhere In Time', Hallmarks 'The Love Letter' or even 'The Lake House'. With decent acting, and a clever, well thought out story containing elements of mystery, suspense and romance.

The story follows a newly single workaholic (Rob Estes) who buys a rundown cottage in Maine where he encounters the ghost of a woman (or so he thinks) who used to live there in the 1960s. As the two form a friendship, they realize that somehow they are sharing the same space even though there is 50 years between them. 'Brian' then becomes determined to change her fate.

This was just all-round better than most TV movies; not cheesy and with attention paid to the set decorating and (60's) period detail (clothing, hairstyles, kitchen knick-knacks, cars etc.) These things usually get overlooked in the made for TV stuff. The setting is also beautiful, the house and garden which play a huge role here.

This is definitely a story that haunts you for a few days afterwards (I may have even shed a tear) the only real issue I had was the sometimes too loud background/theme music. 5/25/15

*Langley BC as Maine.

I love this movie. It's a true romance. I found the movie on the Hallmark Channel and recorded it several months ago. Finally got a chance to see it today. I'm shocked I hadn't heard of it before.

The best part of this movie is that the romance doesn't include any sex scenes. Instead, it's a true love story that isn't drippy or crass. This movie satisfied the romantic in me without being embarrassed while watching. It's a movie even my husband (the Marine) would watch. I want a garden like that.

Of course it didn't hurt that the main character is very handsome and easy to look at. The acting is well done and very believable. I can't wait to find more movies with the some of the same actors.

This Hallmark romance is notable for its fantasy elements that relate to an aberration in the time continuum. That aspect reminds me of "Somewhere in Time."

Brian Connor (Rob Estes) temporarily relocates in Maine for a business assignment. He is a no nonsense kind of guy. A local real estate agent suggests he buy a neglected cottage rather than lease a modern, urban space. Though it is against his nature, something about the property draws him in. And in the process of renovation, he finds a locket that triggers a mysterious adventure that has romantic consequences.

The story holds up despite the complications of time displacement. And the transformation of Brian's personality is believable. This is a different kind of romance, but most Hallmark fans should enjoy it.

I usually skip most TV movies these days because they're cheaply made with bad acting.

Lifetime movies don't impress me at all and I refuse to watch them anymore.

The Sci Fi channel will only make a decent movie once in a while with the gap between the good ones and the bad flicks getting wider and wider. I skip most of these as well.

Hallmark can make a schmaltzy film like the rest of the television networks, but they do much, much better than many.....Why?

I don't have the answer, but most of their movies are regarded by many as a much higher quality than so many other channels and this movie was no exception.

It was really good.

Edge Of The Garden reminded me instantly of The Lake House with Sandra Bullock. That movie however confused the heck out of me and after seeing it a couple of times, I still don't get it.

Then, this movie had some aspects of Somewhere In Time with Jane Seymour and Christopher Reeve.

Not quite the same as either of those, but similar.

This made for television story was done very well. A young woman from 1960 can somehow talk to the man who now lives in her house 50 years later.

Any more than that would be spoilers.

It's definitely a chick flick, but one of the better ones.

Don't miss this. You'll be glad you didn't.

Well worth the watch!

For those curious, this reviewer has been quite harsh in discussion of Canadian films, especially those pretending to be about somewhere else, or someone else, or anything else than what the film actually is.

This could be the exception that proves the rule. On the surface a typical low budget Canuck flick shot in BC but (astonishingly) pretending to take place in Maine, chockablock with delightful Canadian small town sets, starring actors you may never see again in your lifetime, many of whom have not quite managed to hide that distinctive Canuck accent.

So aside from lack of pretence, what is there to actually recommend this film? A really neat story, mainly. Similar perhaps to some of the "time travel" romance movies that have been done before (the classic is Matheson's BID TIME RETURN, filmed under a different name) but yet different enough to be entertaining and still hold the attention.

Yes, Hollywood could do a better job. But this one 'aint bad at all.