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The Secret Garden

The Secret Garden

  • Status: Released
  • 08-07-2020
  • Runtime: 99 min
  • Score: 6.337
  • Vote count: 591

Mary Lennox is born in India to wealthy British parents who never wanted her. When her parents suddenly die, she is sent back to England to live with her uncle. She meets her sickly cousin, and the two children find a wondrous secret garden lost in the grounds of Misselthwaite Manor.

Dixie Egerickx

Mary Lennox

Tommy Gene Surridge

Billy

Colin Firth

Lord Archibald Craven

Julie Walters

Mrs. Medlock

Maeve Dermody

Alice

Edan Hayhurst

Colin Craven

Amir Wilson

Dickon

Isis Davis

Martha

Richard Hansell

George

David Verrey

Jeremy

Lee Starkey

Train Passenger

Sonia Goswami

Aayah

Rupert Young

Marcus

Anne Lacey

Mrs. Pitcher

Jemma Powell

Grace

Peter McGinn

I had the opportunity to watch this new production of the classic Frances Hodgson Burnett novel shortly after viewing the 1975 seven part series based on the same book. I thought it would be interesting to compare the two versions. On the plus side for this movie version, the quality of the production is much higher, with stunning colors and lovely scenes and vistas. It is also very imaginative. In fact, there is a strong element of fantasy throughout, showing both scenes from the past and images in the present time of people who are dead as if they were still alive. Of course, it being a movie instead of a seven part series means that there is less time to develop the plot, so some is left out. And perhaps for the modern audience, there is a dramatic plot device used to hasten the ending that I suspect was not in the book at all. Now I feel like a I should re-read the book after decades since my first reading, just to compare these adaptations to the source material. Not that I would automatically decide the one closest to the story is the better one, but just out of curiosity. I think both versions have reason to like them: this new version for the camera work and imaginative scenes, and the old series for the patient plot and simple,charm.