Rose Hill

This is a very interesting and fun family movie with drama, romance, adventure, and a bit of humor in the Old West and the more "civilized" East. The acting is good, and the story is really good. I gave it an 8/10.

I enjoy Hallmark Hall-of-Fame movies, and I was interested to see some early work by Jennifer Garner, but this story was weak and underdeveloped. It was heart-warming and clean, if that's what you're looking for, but characters for me were unbelievable and the plot just never developed enough. I found it lacking. And since this site requires 10 lines of type in a comment and that's all I have to say, the rest is just filler. Jennifer Garner needs some good movie roles. I'm crazy about Alias, but I don't want to see her stuck in a kick-butt girl role. I'd like to see her in a good, tragic love story, where there's a little of her "I love Michael Vaughn but can't quite have him because something always gets in the way."

I originally got very excited when I heard this movie was coming out. I'm a huge Julie Garwood fan, and this movie was to be based on her bestseller, 'For the Roses'.

Five minutes into the show, I realized that the only thing the book and movie had in common were the names of Mary Rose and her brothers, and the place they live, Rose Hill.

I was very disappointed that the movie was so far away from the book, because the book is a wonderful love story. If you haven't read it, do!

But once I realized how different it was going to be, I was able to look at it as a movie with similarities. That way, I could enjoy the movie unto itself, and not keep comparing it to the book.

The movie is a nice way to kill a couple of hours, with your crochet or knitting in hand, but I wouldn't recommend it if you loved the book! Mary Rose, in the movie, is a spoiled, self-centered little twit who finally comes to self-realization and becomes a better person. Nice, but in the book, she already IS a wonderful person, and would never have looked twice at someone who killed one of her beloved brothers. And in the book, if I'm remembering correctly, none of the brothers die, which is good, since they're all terrific, as well. As a matter of fact, several books were released later, detailing the love stories for the brothers, as well, including Adam, the oldest.

Rent Rose Hill if you want a mindless, though entertaining time-killer. But if you want a terrific story, go get the book "For the Roses", instead. You wont' be sorry!

The storyline is heart-warming and the cinematography is beautiful. However, except for Jeffrey Sams, Kristin Griffith, and the young boys, performance of the rest of the cast is rather wooden. More experienced male actors and lead actress would have brought out more sentiment the story deserves. Jennifer Garner is especially miscast as the female lead. Who would believe she was a 19-year girl in the movie ? She looks more like the four brothers' mother ! In my opinion, the story could have expanded on occasions how much the brothers had doted on the little sister Mary Rose and how she repaid them with ingratitude. Good entertainment, nonetheless, for the family on a Saturday night. But don't expect it to be another Lonesome Dove or even Lily Dale.

...by this story. A very good adaptation of the novel of the same title by Julie Garwood. I resisted seeing the movie after reading the book because I often find that movies adapted from books miss a lot of things; Rose Hill (the movie) had the best essence of the book.

Bravo! to Mr. E. Wallace and Christopher Cain for bringing this great story to life. Jeffrey Sams was perfect and very charming. Jennifer Garner did a great job of portraying Mary Rose. There were a lot more poignant scenes that I can name but do not wish to spoil the movie for those who have not seen it. This definitely goes in my top (TV) movie list.