Jamais sans toi

I've been a fan of Amber Marshall's for a long time I new going into this move that she was in amazing actress but wow to see her playing a different character then Amy on Heartland was great Amber was so amazing playing Emma she really did I have to be honest this was my first time ever seeing Erick Hicks in a move I was so impressed by him I will definitely be watching more of him When I can sit down with my wife in too kids in watch a 2 hour program in not having to worry about profanity that's great Love in Harmony Valley was a great family program there's just not enough of them out there any more my hat's off the writers they really knock this one out of the park Amber Marshall you never feel to impress me Erick Hicks your a great actor I will be watching more of you to the rest of the cast great job guys God bless you all and thanks again for such a great Move

6.3 stars.

I like Marshall, she is one of my faves, taking into account a couple of movies, but mainly due to the show she is most noted for. If you haven't seen that show yet, give it a shot. I'm not going to name it, you can look it up and see for yourself. The title rhymes with "parkland".

This is an odd film with sad faces, disappointment, strange people...the performances were off. The male lead is abnormal in his presentation, almost like he's trying to be someone he's not, and it's off-putting. Trying too hard is the impression I get. The other fellow was just too secondary to have any impact on the story, his personality is absent. The grandmother was inconsistently nice, but unforgiving, and angry, and then maybe reversed? I can't put words to the way each character was portrayed, but it's a mess. Ms. Marshall's character comes off somewhat depressed and scared and hesitant, maybe that's intended, but not fun for a main character to be this way throughout a film. The only person I enjoyed was the injured best friend, and we don't get to see nearly enough of her. She's uplifting, cheerful, fun, full of zest. Rethink the final product next time, director.

The grandmother is the most interesting character by far. The plot is ridiculous; the town development proposal' was like sixth graders developed it vs. Professionals actually from the town who want to preserve its charm.

What's really bad, and typical of so many of these movies, is that the producers make overtures to add people of color in speaking roles, but then they give them the WHITEST names possible. A man of Asian descent is named Flynn Rutherford? Would it have killed them to actually give him a name reflecting his ethnicity?

Decent Storyline. But as for some of the character actors/actresses, I feel they should have found people who have better chemistry with. Ex: Amber Marshall plays Emma which was a great choice, Amber is an excellent actress and people know her from Heartland. Eric Hicks plays Will, Emma's love interest. But the problem I see with the casting is neither Amber or Eric had any kind of chemistry together. It seemed like the relationship between them was forced and awkward, As characters they just didn't seem right together. Which in turn takes a toll on the outcome of the film. In my opinion, they should of found an actor to play Will who has or had better chemistry with Amber who played Emma. I'm in no way saying Eric Hicks isn't a great actor. I'm just saying he really didn't have any chemistry with Amber Marshall and it definitely showed.

The premise is somewhat fresh and the story doesn't use all the formula tropes like so many of this genre, but those are the only positive things I can say about the story.

I wish I had measured how much screen time was spent in the actual city council presentations, which made me cringe to watch. Add to it the amount of screen time in personal politicking. The climax was predictable as was the ending.

I can't say there was any chemistry between Amber Marshall and Eric Hicks because the amount of screen time they spent together with any harmony (sorry no pun intended) didn't seem much longer than the time they spent where he couldn't stand her. And unlike some movies where the obligatory antagonism between the leads almost seems like flirting, there was nothing positive in that part here. Paula Barrett seemed one dimensional as Rose.

Note about BALLOT BOX STUFFING in reviews: check out all the 10 star reviews where this movie is the only movie reviewed. And the rating distribution chart shows way heavier than usual bias for 10 stars.