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Greenfingers
Columbia/Tri-Star // R // January 2, 2002
List Price: $24.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
It's starting to get to the point where many British films seem to be reworkings of past efforts. "Greenfingers" takes elements of "The Full Monty", "Saving Grace", "Blow Dry" and "Waking Ned Divine", bunches them together and comes up with a movie that's nothing particularly original, but still harmless and acted well enough to be mildly engaging, if not memorable.
The film tells the tale of Colin Briggs (Clive Owen of "Croupier"), a convict who has spent most of his days behind bars. After a period of good behavior, he is given the option of transfering to the more minimum-security Edgefield, where the prisoners are allowed to work and learn. Used to his current situation, he doesn't want to go there, but its only a matter of time before he becomes more used to the surroundings, even starting to plant some seeds in the yard, which were given to him by fellow inmate Fergus Wilks (David Kelly of "Waking Ned Divine").
When flowers actually grow from the seeds he planted, the entire crew and the guards are stunned. Believing that he's found something he's actually good at, the warden decides that Colin's days of cleaning toilets are over and that he - as well as several of the other inmates - should start working on a major garden. Sooner than you can say "Ground Force", the crew has turned a weedy patch into a proud little area that they can call their own.
The warden's wife runs into highly respected gardener Mrs. Woodhouse (Helen Mirren), who is convinced to come see the planting that the inmates have done. Once there, she's impressed with their work and decides that the group should attempt to compete for one of the country's highest gardening prizes. Colin also finds love with Mrs. Woodhouse's daughter, but there's tragedy with Fergus, who is terminally ill.
This is apparently a true story, but it feels a bit too smoothed over to be believed. The film's plot points are ones that we're familiar with, as they're put together from pieces of other movies. Yet, although the film does try a bit too hard, it is at least basically charming, occasionally moving and the cast makes for a more entertaining time than "Saving Grace", with Mirren and Owen as highlights. I didn't find it exceptionally memorable or substancial, but "Greenfingers" is a satisfactory little piece, mainly because of its performances.
The DVD
VIDEO: Columbia/Tristar presents "Greenfingers" in a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen edition, with an additional full-frame presentation on the flip-side. The anamorphic widescreen edition is one of the more pleasing Columbia/Tristar efforts that I've seen lately; it's not without its few minor blemishes, but the attractive locations are nicely presented here. Sharpness and detail are satisfactory, as the picture remains crisp and nicely defined throughout.
Yet, I did mention blemishes and "Greenfingers" does have a small share of them. Edge enhancement does appear during a few scenes - not a horrible amount, but enough to the point where I was briefly irritated. Some mild grain and the occasional print flaw appeared as well, although the print seemed to be clean and clear for the majority of the film.
The film's color palette was light and natural, looking nicely warm and without concerns such as smearing. Flesh tones also looked accurate, as well. It's not an effort without some problems, but at least the picture was largely clean.
SOUND: "Greenfingers" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1, but there's little to the film that would require any sort of noticable audio activity. As such, the majority of the film's sound not only comes from the front, but largely folds up into the center channel. It's only during scenes where the score comes in that the audio opens up a bit. Surround use is generally nonexistent, save for a few very slight hints of ambience and music. Audio quality was pleasant, but unremarkable, as the score sounded light and crisp, while dialogue sounded clear, if a bit rough at times.
MENUS:: Basic, non-animated menus that essentially use film-themed images and cover art.
EXTRAS: Not a whole lot - simply trailers for "Greenfingers", "Tao Of Steve", "Living It Up" and "Still Crazy".
Final Thoughts: "Greenfingers" is a movie that's essentially likable and boasts fine performances from a terrific cast. Yet, the film is a bit too consistently cheery for its own good and its plot pieces are predictable. Still, it's certainly worthy of a look as a rental. Columbia/Tristar's DVD presents the film with respectable audio/video, but really nothing in the way of supplements.
It's starting to get to the point where many British films seem to be reworkings of past efforts. "Greenfingers" takes elements of "The Full Monty", "Saving Grace", "Blow Dry" and "Waking Ned Divine", bunches them together and comes up with a movie that's nothing particularly original, but still harmless and acted well enough to be mildly engaging, if not memorable.
The film tells the tale of Colin Briggs (Clive Owen of "Croupier"), a convict who has spent most of his days behind bars. After a period of good behavior, he is given the option of transfering to the more minimum-security Edgefield, where the prisoners are allowed to work and learn. Used to his current situation, he doesn't want to go there, but its only a matter of time before he becomes more used to the surroundings, even starting to plant some seeds in the yard, which were given to him by fellow inmate Fergus Wilks (David Kelly of "Waking Ned Divine").
When flowers actually grow from the seeds he planted, the entire crew and the guards are stunned. Believing that he's found something he's actually good at, the warden decides that Colin's days of cleaning toilets are over and that he - as well as several of the other inmates - should start working on a major garden. Sooner than you can say "Ground Force", the crew has turned a weedy patch into a proud little area that they can call their own.
The warden's wife runs into highly respected gardener Mrs. Woodhouse (Helen Mirren), who is convinced to come see the planting that the inmates have done. Once there, she's impressed with their work and decides that the group should attempt to compete for one of the country's highest gardening prizes. Colin also finds love with Mrs. Woodhouse's daughter, but there's tragedy with Fergus, who is terminally ill.
This is apparently a true story, but it feels a bit too smoothed over to be believed. The film's plot points are ones that we're familiar with, as they're put together from pieces of other movies. Yet, although the film does try a bit too hard, it is at least basically charming, occasionally moving and the cast makes for a more entertaining time than "Saving Grace", with Mirren and Owen as highlights. I didn't find it exceptionally memorable or substancial, but "Greenfingers" is a satisfactory little piece, mainly because of its performances.
The DVD
VIDEO: Columbia/Tristar presents "Greenfingers" in a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen edition, with an additional full-frame presentation on the flip-side. The anamorphic widescreen edition is one of the more pleasing Columbia/Tristar efforts that I've seen lately; it's not without its few minor blemishes, but the attractive locations are nicely presented here. Sharpness and detail are satisfactory, as the picture remains crisp and nicely defined throughout.
Yet, I did mention blemishes and "Greenfingers" does have a small share of them. Edge enhancement does appear during a few scenes - not a horrible amount, but enough to the point where I was briefly irritated. Some mild grain and the occasional print flaw appeared as well, although the print seemed to be clean and clear for the majority of the film.
The film's color palette was light and natural, looking nicely warm and without concerns such as smearing. Flesh tones also looked accurate, as well. It's not an effort without some problems, but at least the picture was largely clean.
SOUND: "Greenfingers" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1, but there's little to the film that would require any sort of noticable audio activity. As such, the majority of the film's sound not only comes from the front, but largely folds up into the center channel. It's only during scenes where the score comes in that the audio opens up a bit. Surround use is generally nonexistent, save for a few very slight hints of ambience and music. Audio quality was pleasant, but unremarkable, as the score sounded light and crisp, while dialogue sounded clear, if a bit rough at times.
MENUS:: Basic, non-animated menus that essentially use film-themed images and cover art.
EXTRAS: Not a whole lot - simply trailers for "Greenfingers", "Tao Of Steve", "Living It Up" and "Still Crazy".
Final Thoughts: "Greenfingers" is a movie that's essentially likable and boasts fine performances from a terrific cast. Yet, the film is a bit too consistently cheery for its own good and its plot pieces are predictable. Still, it's certainly worthy of a look as a rental. Columbia/Tristar's DVD presents the film with respectable audio/video, but really nothing in the way of supplements.
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