Au coeur de la famille

This is a heartwarming Hallmark film about a family torn apart and reunites after the father dies from an accident. The scenery of the lake was spectacular and the acting was excellent. You could really relate to each of their parts.

The only problem I had with the film was the loud music playing constantly in the background. Music is supposed to be in the background, so you can hear each word clearly. Now Hallmark has the music louder than the speaking and continuous. It is like going to a concert and a lecture at the same time and trying to give attention to each equally. Years ago the classic films did not have music when there was speaking unless it was at a climatic point in the movie. I love Hallmark movies, but if I can't hear it clearly, I turn it off half way through the movie. My family and I all have perfect hearing, so it has nothing to do with that. It just annoys all of us and is very disappointing.

This movie is a great family movie that delves into parent/child relationships. This movie explores the return of a woman to her hometown and the conflicts she faces within herself about her decision to leave home and explore the world as a young adult. She deals with grief, love, and her perception of relationships and the world around her throughout the movie. The actors all did a great job, and this one does pull at the heartstrings. I highly recommend this one. Well worth watching. James Welch Henderson, Arkansas 3/16/2021

I really wanted to love this movie as I live on Smith Mountain lake. The storyline is OK. Unfortunately, the acting and/or direction is just awful.

By all means watch it, but don't let your expectations get too high.

Sara and Lily grew up at Smith Mountain Lake. Sara became estranged from the family and without explanation moved to Los Angeles to study law. Her sister Lily, an artist, teaches locally and lives with their parents, Ray and Vivian, until Dad dies in an accident.

The best hing about this film is the cast. Every great character actor is here, plus Jane Seymour and the nearly-forgotten Ben Savage. Unfortunately, it seems most of them gave the bare minimum level of performance, or the director simply did not attempt to get better out of them. The whole thing comes off as an amateur affair with no budget and actors eager to collect their (meager) paychecks and move on to the next project.

I am sorry to disparage something with the legendary Jeff Fahey, but Hallmark (much like Lifetime) is not known for its quality. If anything, they are known for trying to pull the heart strings of easily-affected house wives.

I figured a movie with some pretty good cast would have something interesting happen. I was extremely disappointed. It was so boring! Also, I usually like Jane Seymour, but what was going on with her in this movie? Her accent kept changing for what few lines she seemed to have, and she was a bit too quiet and hard to understand. I get her character's husband just died, but it still seemed inconsistent, and just wrong.

Lately I seem to be more likely to leave reviews on movies I don't like, as I feel like I'm over using the word boring. I also wsh there wasn't such a high word minimum, as I feel it makes my reviews boring too.