Mary is orphaned and must go and live with her strict Uncle and she discovers a magical secret garden on his estate.
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When Mary is found at her home in British India with both of her parents dead she is sent to live with her uncle, Lord Archibald Craven at Misselthwaite Manor back in England. Given her upbringing she is not a very pleasant or kind girl and this is something that would quickly cause issues. On arrival Mrs Medlock who is the servant and housekeeper gives her very strict instructions that she is not to explore the house and is confined to her room at night. One night she hears crying and screams which actually comes from her cousin Colin Craven who is bedridden. Is this something the magic within the garden can somehow fix?
Based on the 1911 novel of the same name it doesn't really feel that different to the 1993 film version, and quite frankly I was never really a big fan of that as a kid so reluctantly found myself watching this version mainly to watch a brand new 2020 film.
I just found everything about the acting and story to be uninspiring, nothing was outstanding or remarkable. The only real positive that I can come up with is that some of the scenes did look pretty good visually once in the garden. I guess Julie Walters for her performance can receive some praise as well. Everything else was just bland with nothing really going for it overall.
For a film like this to work the leading performance from a child actor has to be impressive and it was just lacking for Dixie Egerickx with the lacklustre script which was a total shame. As I felt she was trying very hard with limited opportunities to shine.
I guess it continues the poor form for Sky Cinema who have not really impressed with the original films they have released so far. Just seem to be off the pace when it comes to the streaming platforms and the level of original content.
