The Secrets of Bella Vista

IN A NUTSHELL: This Hallmark mystery was directed by Heather Hawthorn Doyle, and written by Jamie Pachino based on the book "The Apple Orchard" by Susan Wiggs.

The story is about Tess Delaney, who gets the surprising news from estate executor Damhnaic McAuley that she has inherited half of an apple orchard from a father she never knew and has a half-sister she didn't know about. When she visits the orchard and connects with her new-found family, she learns that the orchard is deep in debt. Using her knowledge as an antique expert, Tess and her half-sister work to unravel the mystery of their grandmother's "treasure" that could hold the key to saving the orchard. And, in the process, Tess ultimately finds a new understanding of herself.

THINGS I LIKED: The casting of the mother and daughter was pretty good! I thought the beautiful Rachelle Lefevre looked a lot like Nathalie Boltt.

Nice cinematography and drone shots.

There's a fun mystery to figure out.

I like that Hallmark movies don't always have female employees fighting and bickering. This is the second recent Hallmark movie where I've seen a boss portrayed as super nice to her employees and up for a promotion for a great job.

Empty refrigerators always make me laugh in movies.

We get to spend time in a beautiful apple orchard.

There's more to the story than just romance.

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE: Hallmark was really going for the "diversity" award in this movie with storylines that include a pregnant lesbian couple, a Hispanic family with immigration problems, and a Holocaust story.

Why are the ladies in Hallmark movies always super uptight? Does Hallmark think that's how all single women are?

The CGI window views look super fake.

Super cliched dialogue.

There's a lot of exposition in less than 5 minutes.

Grape stomping is hilarious but seems super unsanitary, right?

Dumb dialogue like "Do you have something sweet like a dessert thing?" Maybe I missed it but it seemed funny to me that there was no discussion about why the apple orchard was going bankrupt. They never addressed the underlying causes. Instead, the characters spent a lot of effort trying to save it, but what kind of financial situation were they going to be in with the orchard once they saved it without solving the underlying problem?

The romance felt like an afterthought in the story, really.

TIPS FOR PARENTS: Spanish is spoken without subtitles.

A lesbian couple has a baby shower.

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The good: female lead did a great job in this role. She was very believable and was quite subtle and nuanced. The actress did a great job providing the character with an emotional story arc. You don't necessarily like her character at first, but grow to sympathize with her. Frankly it was one of the best performances I've seen in a Hallmark film. The chemistry between this character and her half sister was also great.

The script was also very good. Generally had sharp dialogue and didn't get too bogged down in unnecessary exposition, which is something Hallmark does a lot.

The less good: Lead actor, who was good in Aurora Teagarden, was subpar here. His character come across quite creepy. This might be a script and direction thing as much as an acting one.

The other thing I didn't love was how a certain pivotal plot point regarding the farm and the lead female's role in it were written. Her reaction didn't really feel true to the character we had been introduced to. She should have been a lot angrier.

Overall this was a real nice film which resonated with me.

I'm a big fan of Rachel Lefevre, the redhead beauty who plays Tess. I also like Hallmark vet Niall Matter, who plays Dominic. Rachel was in another solid Hallmark movie this year called Moriah's Lighthouse and Niall was in a really great Hallmark movie this year called Rip in Time.

This is NOT another cookie cutter Hallmark movie. It's an engaging lost and found story that was somewhat reminiscent of The Christmas Note and My Christmas Family Tree (2 great Hallmark movies that explored the emotional impact of having a complicated and incomplete family history).

The Secrets of Bella Vista is based on the novel The Apple Orchard by New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs and ties a key plot point about old historical items to the escape, by Tess' grandparents, from Nazi-occupied Denmark during World War II. Tess, unaware of this history, coincidentally has an interesting job as a high end art and antiques expert in San Francisco. She's presented as someone too busy to even eat. Just as I was getting annoyed with Tess, I realized the script had given her a believable back story of abandonment that explained most of her actions (with one glaring exception). I also found the explanation for the Orchard's financial problems to be surprisingly credible.

I was drawn in by the story and appreciated the careful plot details that made this a (mostly) believable family mystery. I cared about Tess and Isabel (warmly played by Helena Marie) and was grateful that this wasn't a story of scheming and back stabbing beneficiaries. In fact, Tess was unrealistically portrayed as too far on the other end of the spectrum.

Specifically, it's revealed at the beginning that she's inherited half of a big apple orchard property, home and business near Napa that she thinks is worth as much as $20 million. And yet she flippantly tells the banker she doesn't want it and is willing to sign it over to a newly discovered family member she's never met.

Really??

She's supposedly only 30 years old (which the radiant 43 year old Lefevre pulls off) and though she seems successful, how rich could she possibly be? And who just walks away from what seems like a huge inheritance? Heck, she could have sold her share and donated the proceeds to Ukraine War Relief. Her lack of interest in her inheritance was wildly unrealistic.

But that was just one of only a few off key notes in an otherwise entertaining and enjoyable movie.

Random Observations:

The growing (and wonderful) relationship between Tess and Isabel seemed believably warm and healthy for both of them.

I've heard the phrase "bankers' hours", but the banker in this movie really never seemed to work.

There's a bad outdoor green screen scene at the orchard that looks more fake than most.

There's a terrible, and terribly misplaced, song that plays over the pie baking scene with lyrics that include "we don't need money no, we don't need money for rainy days. We don't need anyone". Ugh. But the scene was cute.

I love Hallmark's increasing inclusion of LGBTQ characters without having their lifestyle being the source of any drama.

Hoping to see Rachel Lefevre again in another Hallmark movie soon.

The major relationship here was between the two sisters. That was, IMO, very well done, as was the gradual involvement of the lead's life with that of her extended family in the orchard, and her discovery of their history.

Niall Matter is one of my favorite actors in the Hallmark universe, but he was irrelevant here. If anything, I thought he should have gotten together with the sister, not the lead character. I suppose it was an obligatory part of a Hallmark movie, but in this one it wasn't necessary.

To the whiners who say that they don't like the inclusion of LGBTQ, get over it - they're a part of society now, and in this movie they were introduced as just a normal set of friends of the lead. Nothing was pushed, and they weren't pushed into the closet. Lots of Hallmark movies have hetero couples, and a few have gay couples. No big deal.

To sum up, an interesting movie with a non-threatening mystery, and romance was a side-issue.

Best Points: The Actors: especially the leads- Niall Matter and LeFevre are excellent . Their difficult and sometimes impossible Jobs are to flesh- out and fill the holes in the underdeveloped script. .. a. Mystery of Family and hidden clues.

Weakest Points: Trying to develop a good and well written storyline in Hallmark's standard 1 1/2 hour format. Really doesn't work well here.

Many layers of the plot and well drawn inter-connection between characters - sadly never happen

Worth the. Watch? Yes, good actors and the location make it worth the short watch, but you leave wanting something more substantial.