The Blessing Bracelet

8.0 stars.

As it got underway I could see this was going to be a special film. It's nice to have a story that is not totally outrageous with the miracles and the fluffy Christianity from a ridiculous perspective. A lot of Hallmark movies overstate these "miracles", making them out to be modern fairy tales. Yes, I believe in miracles, but how can we rightly believe that God will answer every little question or request by sending a fantastical set of signs and wonders? I would be in the majority who find those sorts of movies to be unconvincing.

'The Blessing Bracelet' is an understated version of an inspirational film, a tale of a woman who resorts to prayer to reconstruct a devastated life. Her husband disappeared 3 years ago leaving her and their son alone with massive debts. She is about to lose the house and she's in a very grim state trying to pick up the pieces of her life and learn to gain trust in men and life in general. God answers her prayers in a subtle yet undeniable way, and she builds her life once again until she is now in a better place than she was before. It's quite an endearing story of redemption, community and charity.

This is the story of Dawn a divorced single mom who is on the verge of having her home foreclosed upon by the bank. Her ex-husband has skipped out after putting his wife and son in a pretty big financial hole. Dawn, who already has a job at the local vet gets a second job waitressing at a local restaurant. Through faith or luck she meets Ben and starts selling these blessing bracelets that she used to make in high school. The bracelets take off, just like her relationship with Ben and his dog Lollie.

The two leads in this faith based romance had wonderful on screen chemistry and great actors, Carlo Marks and Amanda Schull. I appreciated that both Ben and Dawn still had both their parents and they were supportive...as was their local church community.

Normally I would complain about yet another divorce storyline on Hallmark, but I think this one was handled well and didn't bother me with this overall sad theme. In fact quite the reverse the overall message was one of hope. The Easter festivities were a highlight and it was fun to see all of the pastel colors, eggs and flowers.

I highly recommend this to fans of romance and faith based tv.

Count your blessings plus a dose of forgiveness are the ideas behind this movie. A divorced woman who seems to be hopelessly in debt thanks to her ex stumbles on the idea of making these bracelets to remind people to count their blessings. These main ideas plus some chemistry between Amanda Schull and Carlo Marks are enough to make this a pleasant watch.

The story is simplistic and predictable. There are no great highs or lows or surprises and very little tension beyond Dawn's financial crisis which the viewer knows is somehow going to be rescued by the bracelet business.

I often say that these movies struggle with any resemblance to reality but this one really stretches things. The business model portrayed in the movie is a confusing mess but somehow produces revenue enough to pay off months of back house payments and more. I was surprised when I did an internet search and saw one article claim the inspiration for these was an actual product on Amazon. Looking there I saw the subject bracelets were selling for nearly $30 each. Still.

There is an unintentional secret in the story which leads to a conflict. I thought that was overplayed, but they needed something and I guess the backstory does sort of explain the anger.

For those who don't like religious sermonizing, that part of this story is benign. While Dawn talks to God several times and emphasizes counting her blessings, the movie is far from preachy. And she could have been part of almost any mainstream religion.

I like it for fair exploration of sensitive themes. For nice simplicity of bracelets. For the fair reference to faith, God, comunity solidarity. For dog and for return of husband and for trust problem.

Each of them just mazzers because ech Hallmark romance, having same recipe, can be interesting only for smart use of spices. In this case, sure, in old dusty formulas, the touch of religious area is inspired option.

In rest, familiar things, from single mother to the secret of her boyfriend, to the nice work of supporting actors - Marilyn Norry is the revelation of film, offering the so useful - realistic portrait of Pearl - and the boy working for his mom happiness.

In short, just beautiful surprising.

First, Amanda's flat wig was a cross between Nicole Kidman and Veronica Lake, and looked old fashioned for 2024. The U. S have always been a bit behind in the fashion stakes, with some lead ladies looking like 1960s country singers.

The storyline was different, but whereas we know that Hallmark scriptwriters love lines that include "listen to your heart" and ""follow your heart" - (do people actually talk like that ? They do in Hallmarkland apparently), I found that the constant referrals to faith, God and community, a bit OTT. Maybe it's because here in the UK we don't "do" faith films we're just not that preachy. We go to whichever church our God dictates - if we go, but we're pretty much low key in our faith so yes, I do find this film a bit cheesy.

The two leads were well matched, and it was an OK watch. I've seen much worse.