Tom's Midnight Garden

So few people know of this flick. Saw it last year on cable and tried to watch it every time it showed up. Can't purchase on DVD yet. Cast is perfect but it's the English gardens that steal this movie. Add a decent plot and beautiful locations and this one is a hit. Sit back and enjoy, it's delightful.

Old age and youth meet up in a loving way that is seldom seen in film, and for this alone I give this film a 7. Both Greta Scacchi and James Wilby are underused and Andrew Way gives a moving performance as Tom, and despite the fact he was perhaps too old for the role it did not matter to me. I wish he had continued giving performances in other films of equal value. But what I did dislike was the beginning and the end. I found it dissipated the magic by putting a cosy, and to me a banal ending to the story. Ambiguity about Tom's future as a man went out of the window and as I have not read the book I hope the mistake was not made there. I just need to add that Joan Plowright gave a performance that moved me to tears. How does she do it ? Magic ?

I first came across this story when I was a 12 year old watching it on my primary school television. That was back in 1974 and it was a 3 part series. Fast forward to 2008. I managed to track down this version through a website called www.play.com. I sat down and watched it from beginning to end tonight and I was completely captivated by the whole movie. The scenery was breathtaking and the storyline was just as I remembered it. It was one of those movies that you simply did not want to end. I thought the acting was superb throughout but a special mention here for the superb actress that is Joan Plowright. Hers was a small part but she stood out like the fantastic actress she is. A previous reviewer said it was a film that the often criticised British Film Industry is so good at making. I couldn't have put it better myself.

I'd never heard of this movie before today, and had no intention of watching it. I stopped by my parents' house to feed their cat, and offhandedly flipped the TV on, about 10 minutes into the movie. Oh look, I thought, another dry British film. Wow, Greta Scacchi does a pretty good accent. Next thing I knew, I had my coat off, it was 2 hours later, and the film was over. It grabbed me just like that. Of course, I may be biased -- I have a thing for "time travel" stories of any kind, and this one was so subtle that I found it especially intriguing. Anybody who's ever felt a bit alone or abandoned at some point in their life should get a lift from this story. And there's a nice underlying message about the ability of true friendship to transcend both gender and age.

Unlike many films of this nature, this film does not spend ages character building before launching into the story. The pre-story is short, with the film being plot driven. The characters are not explored in depth, instead it is the relationship between Tom and Hatty that is the focus.

That is not to say that you do not feel for the characters, the empathy is there. Like the best films, not everything is explained, and it is for you to discover it for yourself, leaving you with the desire to say your discovery to the characters. Slowly you become drawn into Tom's world.

The settings are beautiful, the characters are generally well acted, and the ending, whilst obvious, is still wonderful. Warning: may lead to tears !

I would, without question, recommend this film. It appeals to everyone from children to adults, and works on a few different levels.