Tortoise in Love

Tom mitchelson is "Thomas, the gardener" for a fancy estate. When the new polish governess (alice zawadzki) arrives to look after young Harry, she is quite the beauty. Thomas is quite taken with her. This one is a silly, fun love story, with lots of quirky, real people. Grandma is fun, but off her rocker. And she wants to have a festival like the good ol' days. Stand back! Lots of running gags in this one. Plain, simple fun. Fair amount of laughs. Jokes about dating. Jokes about married life. Moves pretty slowly.. will Tom ever get together with the governess? It's okay. Probably meant for a younger audience? Written and directed by Guy Browning. This is the first, and only film written by, or directed by him.

I couldn't disagree more with some of the other reviews I have read for this film. It completely exceeded my expectations. It was genuinely funny - I cried with laughter several times - and overall well written, well edited and well shot in a fantastic location. The acting was just fine and I thought the chemistry between the leads was good. My only slight criticism is that the lead actor was too good looking for his role but he just about gets away with it, being somewhat neurotic and more confident with plants than people.

How refreshing to be able enjoy a film that celebrates rural English life with quirky village characters that's not too twee and has plenty of modern social references (note boob jobs...)

Really enjoyed this gentle comedy. A film about a small community, made by a small community. It is fun, light hearted and warm. Would definitely recommend for a bit of Sunday evening escapism and a glimpse into English rural life. Plenty of endearing comedy set in a beautiful location. The main characters are goofy but likable and if you are in the mood, this is a lovely little gem.

This film was screened at a local venue and was accompanied by an excellent talk about how it came into existence. Guy Browning is an excellent and amusing speaker, who has invested loads into his local community.

If you like Boulting Brothers, London Bridge, Two Lions, or Ealing comedies of the 1950s (and it is probably my favourite genre) then you will like this - it has much of the same sensibilities and is in the same lineage.

Other reviewers have slammed this with 1s or 2s, or overpraised it with 10s - I'm glad I didn't read them before I saw Tortoise in Love as this is, like most romantic comedies, neither exceptionally good and certainly not exceptionally bad. The film is fun and even funny - it is a very British take on love - as the hero cannot express his feelings for the Polish au-pair. All set in a world full of Thomas Hardy accents, gorgeous Georgian architecture, and rolling fields it is a very easy watch. It's all a little too fake and perfect for the real modern Britain - and it looks implausibly false in many, many ways.

But, the script was fun.

All in all, nowhere near as bad as some as suggesting - but it is a little too prissy, rather than charming, to really fly...

This is a gentle comedy of village life, with some good lines. A young man falls in love with a Polish visitor and struggles to find a way to make himself understood.

Unlike Calendar Girls and Brassed Off, the film doesn't manage to develop a dark side to act as a counterpoint to the courting couple, which means that it can seem a bit insubstantial.

The lead character is a dead ringer for Hugh Grant, and there are some good supporting performances from unknowns.

The soundtrack is good and the settings are very beautiful. I loved the cameo from the Red Arrows.

This the kind of film Richard Curtis would make on a low budget.