Dernier jour d'été

I like these type of movies, a rainy afternoon coming in from the cold and settling down to warm by a fire and watch some light relief.

Kellie Martin and Kevan Smith are two of my favourite Hallmark actors, neither have said hello to the Botox and seem more genuine than some of the others (especially women). Both have always given a stellar and solid performance, even when dealt a dodgy script. For this though, it seemed the writing had more depth and allowed for the characters to grow, it was touching and sensitive. The scenery was magnificent and really added to the whole film.

A quality film and well directed from Mark Jean.

Annie is hard to really like, although you do kind of root for her. Her two children are barely any better off as far as the pain they carry. There is a mystical element to this story because Annie gets phantom messages on her phone from her dead husband. James has potential and lives up to it as the story goes on. Annie on the other hand carries her chip far too long.

Their initial meeting is a disaster as James irresponsibly backs into Annie destroying her day's livelihood. (Another reason not to like Annie is her stubborn refusal to accept the payment he offers which he totally owes her for the accident. In fact his liability should be far more.) Their second meeting is better with some decent banter between them.

A big subplot is Annie's relationship with her kids, especially her teenage daughter, Ella. Ella's character gets more development than the daughter does in a lot of stories like this. We see how Ella is dealing with her dad's loss.

There are some great lines. "None of the women you know actually eat." I can't say there is much chemistry between Martin and Smith, mostly because Martin keeps pulling back. Annie and James start to click and then Annie shuts it down. More than once. There is a hint of chemistry. It could have been there.

I like sappy. The climax/ending of this movie goes over the top of sappy. It almost seems manipulative.

I think I am overly generous with my rating. The movie was comfortable because I like both Martin and Smith. If two much less known actors had done this, I think I wouldn't have liked the movie hardly at all.

7.7 stars.

There is something about this family, a widow named Annie (Kellie Martin) and her two children. There is a depth to them that is rarely seen in family relationships with Hallmark. James (Smith) is at their home and he gets to experience this wonderful trio, so endearing, and lovable, in spite of the daughter's bitterness.

This film is beautifully wrought full of deep emotion for the loss they have suffered and James is the right man to fit the huge hole that has been vacant for the past two years. The son lights up when he's around, and it's evident that Annie is falling for him. Once they are able to sort through the emotions and the complicated grief, maybe they can be happy once more. The complexity of their loss is that Annie is getting messages from beyond the grave. What do these messages indicate? Annie must figure it out for herself.

I cried not once, twice, but three times. I wept like a baby in one scene, a rare moment for a film to evoke such a measure of compassion within me. It's just a movie after all...

This was pretty good. Decent acting from Kellie Martin and Kavan Smith especially for one of these Made for TV movies. The plot is ultra predictable but helped along by a supernatural element and some beautiful scenery from Ontario lake cottage country.

The story follows Annie and her two children a couple years after the sudden death of her husband. Annie has started a catering company and meets a wealthy guy who is immediately smitten with her. Annie is hesitant however to let her heart go until she begins to receive encouraging phone calls from her late husband. Some very nice scenes towards the end with the daughter and James

This movie was awesome. It really showed the struggles one experiences after the death of someone close to them. Then you slowly see new love reborn. I would definitely watch again. Loved it James Welch Henderson Arkansas 5/17/21.