Greenfingers

A very well done movie, with everybody turning in a fine performance. Clive Owen was quite good, but David Kelly is simply marvelous. However odd as you may think the story is, you'll be drawn in by this movie almost immediately.

Gardening is pretty much a national sport in England, so perhaps the movie makes more sense to the Brits than us in the states, but don't be fooled by the story premise about a bunch of gardening inmates. It's just a plain enjoyable story that comes highly recommended.

It's based on a series of true events, which just makes the movie all the more delightful.

Go out and rent it, you'll enjoy it.

I can't believe the cynicism surrounding this film. It has a nice wholesome quality to it that is lacking in our films today. I love films like 'Scarface', 'GoodFellas' and '48 HRS.' but that doesn't mean I can't like a film like 'Greenfingers'. Taking a group of prisoners and putting them in such a scenario as making them gardeners as part of their rehabilitation is a unique concept for a film. Reviewers, especially American critics must think all prisons around the world are loaded with weapons and power hungry guards and wardens. Countries like Canada, Switzerland and England have less violent criminals and less confrontational authorities. Some are mocking the film's whole premise as absurd but to make it more credible, this film is based on a true story! 'Greenfingers' runs a short 90 minutes, has some good characters that are well developed and jokes that bubble with surprising wit and charm. Examine the cast and crew carefully and watch out for their next film(s). We need more like them.

My wife and I caught this nice, heartwarming film quite by accident. We started watching it as there was nothing else on. Then, as the story progressed, quite rapidly, we were engrossed.

The was quite good, as should be expected by British actors, the cinematography and settings were great and the story was superb, though simple.

Too few of these nice little foreign films get airplay in the States (we are currently living in Taiwan), and it's a shame, because this is a great little film.

"Daysees, pahnsies and buttucups, you blokes are a disgrace to the prison system."

I have a couple of cynical kin who sometimes go to the video rental store and select a movie solely because there are only one or two copies on the shelf. Their reasoning: wildly popular movies usually reflect the crass, Hollywood-dictated tastes of the ignorant masses, while a single- or double-copy film has had enough of a following to be recognized as worthwhile, but not enough to be awful. (Hey, don't blame me--I'm just quoting my nutty relatives.) But you know what? More often than not they bring home a charmer.

"Greenfingers" is such a one. British convicts in an experimental prison discover the joy of creating a beautiful garden. There are some painful setbacks and some delicious triumphs, mixed in with some lust here, some romance there--come to think of it, a kind of human garden. The characters are quirky and endearing, the situations amusing, the presentation economical. The cinematography is good, too; the opening scene could be entitled, "A Thousand Words," for what it's worth.

I particularly salute the courage of those who dared to people a movie with a warden who wasn't sadistic, a celebrated and haughty VIP who wasn't hateful, and well-behaved prisoners who got a break. (Next thing you know, they'll be making movies involving Christians who aren't hypocrites, parents who aren't fools, conservative legislators who aren't racists, and corporation execs who are just about as honest as the rest of us.)

(Naah--never happen.)

See this movie; unless you are an action junkie or a confirmed curmudgeon, it will make you smile and be glad.

7/10

Actually, I can't recall any scene with greenhouse naughtiness, but there is plenty of gardening and a smattering of lustiness. True story or otherwise, this is my favourite British film for a couple of years, including last year's boy in the ballet flick. It's got that expected gentleness in the tale, in spite of the prison setting, but it seems so well made that I forgave its overly romanticised telling. David Kelly, as the terminally ill serial wife killer, was quite superb. I suppose I am being too fanciful to expect him to get a Best Supporting Actor nomination next year, but he certainly deserves it. The rest of the male cast did an adequate job, whilst Helen Mirren shone as the expert gardener. Finally, I have to mention Lucy Punch, if only to say that I was disappointed her part was not as enlarged as her midriff became. 7/10. A film which interested me from start to finish.