Film Review: The Secret Garden Is Vintage, Family Fun
Watching the Secret Garden, I kept on thinking of old school, childhood films from the 90s and 2000s like, Matilda or The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. These classic films felt incredibly banal and their fantasy tangible because they were rooted in a sad fact; kids get hurt. Sometimes, kids get bullied, isolated, or go through tremendous tragedies that would even confound adults. Yet, the surreal magic only amplifies the film’s core fantasy: a healing, happy ending.
In life, you will get multiple, happy finales, in part, because you will have many issues. The beauty of The Secret Garden is that it about a few kids that got the “short-end of the stick:” from embittered Colin’s crippling health to the spunky, Dixie Egerickx’s Mary and the loss of her parents. These are children who know life doesn’t have to go well because you are alive, but the theme of this film, like the book, is that if you look for life’s secret gardens, the pocketed places where magic and love still live, you can nurture yourself back. You can keep rising from all tragedies to find new joys, which Mary does in friends like the warm Dickon (Amir Wilson). Together. These children soften each other, and through Jack Throne’s script, turn the “Secret Garden” into an Eden of sorts: mystical safe-haven where children who loss their innocence can still feel young.
The Secret Garden | Official Trailer [HD] | On Demand Everywhere August 7
When I say “loss of innocence,” what I really mean is that they learned no one is safe at a very young age. We meet Mary as she confronts the loss of her family and the sense of security that comes from them. Of course, what would any children’s film be without a grumpy adult adding insult to injury. In this, Colin Firth shines as the titular, typical British dad/ uncle from old literature who goes from cranky to caring with a little magic and the persistence of children’s love. His As the head of Misselthwaite Manor, he, like the place, appears gray, grim, and embattled, which is a perfect contrast for the botany paradise that is The Secret Garden. It is visually stunning, and director Marc Munden does well to make both a contrast. Moreover, he amplifies the garden as a place of healing; one where even the most broken heart becomes mended.
The Secret Garden Movie Clip – The Laburnum Arch (2020) | Movieclips Coming Soon
Based on the 1911 novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, this film is cheery and cheesy as I find most children’s tales to be. Thus, I feel it fulfills the purpose of a good, kid picture, especially because it is coming out on VOD. With the pandemic, families are at home and feel at a crossroad; becoming veterans of extra precaution, staying in, and the creeping boredom that enters you when you have realized that your home has become your everything. Thus, films like The Secret Garden are like a breathe of fresh air to the family, and, honestly, it is a film for home. Had it come out in theaters, I don’t know if its sweetness would have landed. While it special effects are certainly of the 2020’s, its storyline, pacing, and overall development feels 2000s, which is not bad but not for a new release in theater. The Secret Garden Comes Out August 7.
