terrible... so disappointed.

One of the worst movies I've ever seen

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

This only score this high with me because the little girl is cute. My biggest problem is that in this version Mary cries all the time. Starting with when they throw her doll to the fire because of germs. Anyone similar with the story know that a big part of the Mary character is that she is a strange and unresponsive little girl and doesn't cry at all. At least not until the very end if at all. As an avid reader and fan of the story I find this most troubling. There have been many good versions of this movie made.If you want a great version try the 1993 one. It's my personal favorite out of the many I have seen. My only problem with the 1993 version is the change in how Mary's parents passed away, but as they are such a small part of the story it is not too serious of an infraction in my opinion.

Director Alan Grint (who did a bang up job directing some of the episodes of the British Sherlock Holmes series starring Jeremy Brett) has successfully translated an F H Burnett book to the small screen. This Hallmark Hall of Fame version introduces us to a grown Mary Lennox who in flashback, relives her childhood experience in coming to the rural manor of her guardian.The real story has no reference to grown Mary or her romantic connection to Colin Craven. This is probably due to the fact that in the novel, Burnett makes it clear that Mary and Colin are actually cousins. This film version has erased that from the story, which would not be required if the unnecessary adult portions of the story had been left out.Young Gennie James is excellent as (at first) ill tempered and selfish Mary Lennox. She resents her new situation (orphan living in someone else's house) and strains the patience of her caretaker (Whitlaw). When she discovers there is a secret garden, she is determined to find it, and when, upon finally meeting her guardian Mr. Craven, she steers him into granting her permission to make a garden anywhere she chooses. Of course she chooses the walled in garden.When she finally tames Colin enough to tell him of the garden and her new friend Dickon, and his mysterious way with animals, the willful Colin is determined to see these wonders for himself and demands that the servants take him outside in his wheel chair and allow Mary to escort him with Dickon to push him. The servants balk, but give in to their young master's whim. This, of course, proves to be the beginning of the sickly Colin's road to recovery.Young Oliver as Dickon is quite good, though he has little to say. Steele does a fine job of playing the demanding, insufferable crippled boy. Horndern is just right as the crusty but faithful Gardener and Whitlaw is good as always. All in all, a charming and satisfying, if slightly altered, version of the excessivley wordy classic novel. Incidentally, for you fans of Harry Potter, NO, director Alan Grint is not the father of Rupert Grint.

Many may disagree with me, but this is a wonderful movie. The young actors playing Colin, Mary and Dickon are likable and convincing. The scenery is beautiful; one can tell most of this movie was shot outside and not on a sound stage. This particular interpretation is haunting; and initially it is dreary. Mary is a sad little girl at the beginning of the movie (obviously, since she lost both of her parents and is transported from sunny India to dreary Northern England). The outside scenes of Mistlethwaite Manor (possibly even the inside, I don't remember) were filmed at an old mansion that was reputedly haunted. Pastoral scenes of real gardens and forests permeate most of this film, and it is really a visual delight. Haunting classical music (mostly played on solo piano) binds the aesthetic aspects of this film together. I agree with this interpretation because there is so much sadness in this story; Mary lost both of her parents, Colin's mother died, his father is depressed. Most people are familiar with the plot, so I won't give it here; but the ending may not please literary purists. Mary, as an adult comes back to Mistlethwait Manor to visit the garden. She is a medic in the war (I believe World War I). She runs into the old gardener (his name escapes me at the moment). They talk about Dickon, who died in the war in a forest and how he would have wanted it that way. Colin appears, (who was also a soldier), who is on leave because he was shot in the leg. We learn at this point that he and Mary kept in touch by writing letters. Colin proposes to Mary, she says yes; and the final scene is the three of them walking into the garden. I personally like this ending, because although it isn't what the author intended, it satisfies questions about the fate of these beloved characters.

This has got to be one of the worst book-to-movie adaptations that I have ever seen. The acting by the children was stiff and obviously acting, making it very difficult for me to get into the story. Derek Jacobi was out of place in this film and this is not one of his best roles. Too many of the scenes are so melodramatic that they detract from the story. The only thing I can say about the movie is that it does not stray too far from the book. But look elsewhere for a reasonable movie version. The 1993 version directed by Agnieszka Holland, although it does have its own faults, is much better than this one.