The Secret Garden (2020)

Directed by: Marc Munden | 99 minutes | drama, family, fantasy | Actors: Dixie Egerickx, Richard Hansell, David Verrey, Tommy Gene Surridge, Julie Walters, Maeve Dermody, Colin Firth, Isis Davis, Amir Wilson, Fozzie, Anne Lacey, Edan Hayhurst, Rupert Young, Jemma Powell, Sonia Goswami

‘The Secret Garden’, one of the best-known works by the British-American writer Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849-1924), may have been published as early as 1911, but the children’s book has proved timeless and universal. Filmmakers love the story of young girl Mary Lennox who discovers a mysterious magical garden. The first ‘silent’ film version appeared as early as 1919, which has fallen into oblivion. More famous is the 1949 MGM film adaptation, starring Margaret O’Brien and Dean Stockwell, a black-and-white film that cleverly explored Technicolor’s ability to portray the magic of the secret garden most effectively. More than forty years later there was the version by Agnieszka Holland (1993), in which John Lynch took on the role of the embittered Mr. Craven and none other than Dame Maggie Smith as the dour housekeeper Mrs. Medlock. In between, no fewer than three different British miniseries were made of ‘The Secret Garden’ (in 1952, 1960 and 1975 respectively), a Hallmark TV movie appeared in 1987 with, among others, Derek Jacobi and a modest contribution by Colin Firth (about who more in a moment) and both an animation and an anime variant were made in the 1990s. And did we mention that there are multiple stage adaptations, including an opera and a musical?

The charm of ‘The Secret Garden’ has apparently not yet worn off, because 110 years (!) after the publication of the book, producer David Heyman (known for the Harry Potter, Fantastic Beasts and Paddington franchises) comes with a 21st- century version. The story will sound familiar to many: When both her parents die of cholera, stubborn ten-year-old Mary (Dixie Egerickx) is sent from British India to England to live with her uncle Lord Archibald Craven (Colin Firth) on his immense estate. to come and live. He has never been able to cope with the death of his wife, Mary’s mother’s sister, so the immense villa feels chilly, cold and grim. Mary should not stick her nose in matters she has nothing to do with, emphasizes the strict housekeeper Mrs. Medlock (Julie Walters), or she’ll be sent to boarding school—and that’s the last thing spoiled Mary wants. She doesn’t feel very comfortable, especially at night when she is kept awake by all kinds of strange noises from the room next to hers. Fortunately, she gets on well with the kitchen maid Martha (Isis Davis) and, while playing outside on the huge estate, she also meets Martha’s younger brother Dickon (Amir Wilson). While exploring, she encounters a cheerful dog and a robin that lead her to a mysterious garden that is completely opposite to the sadness in Lord Craven’s Misselthwaithe Manor. The renewed energy she gains in the garden gives her the courage to poke around the house. She discovers that the nighttime crying comes from her cousin Colin (Edan Hayhurst), a sickly boy confined to his bed because he thinks he can’t walk. Although he is just as spoiled and cocky as Mary, a friendship slowly but surely blossoms, which only grows when she persuades Colin to join her and Dickon in the garden.

While screenwriter Jack Thorne (“The Aeronauts,” 2019) has undoubtedly treated Frances Hodgson Burnett’s source material with respect, he has firmly left his own mark on the script. For example, Thorne moves the story almost forty years further in time, to 1947 (a turbulent time in British India because the country was then divided into what we now know as India, Pakistan and Bangladesh) and we get much more background information about Mary, her tragic mother and the equally sad family history of the Cravens. In fact; this plays a crucial role. For purists and lovers of the novel that may not be done, but the story does get more body by expanding the backstory. Thorne also dramatically dramatized the final chord. The magic of the secret garden, which was designed relatively modestly in the previous film version, is far from subtle due to the frequent use of CGI. As a result, the garden has now turned into a chock-full jungle where native and exotic greenery grow right through each other and where the sun does shine very brightly. Dario Marianelli’s rich yet mighty score goes a step further. How ironic that a film about the healing power of nature is so full of artificiality…

Actually, that’s the problem with the whole movie. The intentions are undoubtedly good and a lot of time, money and energy has been put into this project, but the subtlety of the novel has been completely snowed under by the enormous excess of visual spectacle. Hodgson Burnett at the time put a lot of love into carefully describing her message; that children can work miracles with hard work, attention and care. To revive a dying plant and heal emotional and physical wounds. There is also a valuable message in the story for adults, because Hodgson Burnett subtly sketches how you can let a child grow and flourish as a parent. In this CGI version, directed by Marc Munden, that core seems to have been pushed aside in order to make that garden as spectacular and colorful as possible. Does that make this 21st century ‘The Secret Garden’ a bad movie? Not necessarily. The acting is fine, especially from top-class Walters and Firth, who makes a nice nod to the 1987 Hallmark film adaptation in which he plays the older version of Colin. The child stars also do a good job, especially Egerickx who plays an endearing young girl who develops fairly convincingly from insufferably spoiled brat to a socially involved teenager who performs heroic deeds. And the story of Frances Hodgson Burnett is still rock solid, even in a stripped-down or modernized version. But you won’t find that magic and that warm heart from the book here unfortunately. Tip for David Heyman, Jack Thorne and associates for their next film: less is more!