davidurieli-1 Review of The Secret of Moonacre

The Secret of Moonacre (2008)

one of the better films about children's books

[7/10 · 30 September 2009]

This is a very uneven film however there is a huge amount to redeem it. The scenery wavers between beautiful and ravishing, the props and costumes are gorgeous and mostly appropriate although I would have sacrificed the darkness of the Noir side to give them a bit more class and style even if it was in black. The acting by the two main characters is really very good and the story is one the whole fairly charmingly adapted to the screen (something more or less impossible for really good literature of which the book is an example). There are many criticisms. The plot is partly made up and partly scrambled. Some of the effects are very poor. The acting of some parts is wooden at best The dialogue is often awful, and the loss of the vicar along with Robin in his real role is a missed opportunity. I hated Robin's costume which was far too reminiscent of clockwork orange. But still, a very nice evening out.