Paul Evans
Sometimes you just know after 5 minutes of watching a film whether it's going to be good or not. I bought it on the strength of John Henshaw being in it, he seems to do no wrong. In truth if i gave this film a 10 star rating it would not do enough justice for it. Ridiculously fabulous film that relies on story, acting, cranked up with a fair amount of emotional turmoil. Please see this film, it's a very undervalued classic. Im hyper critical of films, but this is perfection. When it comes to action/horror I generally think US films cannot be beaten, when it comes to a drama, i think its one area the Brits are way out ahead, there is a realism about this film that is quite unnerving. The humour very subtle and well placed. It's given me such a good feeling after watching it.
selffamily
I watched the DVD of this, basically because that's how i watch movies. I wondered at the start if I had made a mistake and was going to rue the decision to buy it, but no, things livened up a bit, the comedy was subtle and the acting was stock UK standard - sometimes too good for its own good, many viewers missing the sublety. I think today we are so saturated with 'blockbuster' and 'drama' that when we see characters who seem to be not acting, we just think that they're doing badly. I've done that myself. However, although I think that Philip Jackson, who is one of my favourites, was a predictable casting, the situation was ultimately sorted in the typical British no-fuss method of side-stepping the unpleasantness and dealing to him. I liked it, no apologies for that. I'll probably watch it again.
craigagain
I recently saw the movie at the cast and crew screening. For a start, its an average movie thats more like a television movie rather than a film made for the cinema. I felt the film lacked any cinematic quality sadly as do most British films. The acting was okay in places, Benidict Wongs performance was a good and safe performance holding the film together. I thought some of the accents done by the actors were woeful and laboured as were a lot of the performances. Its a shame to see some of our well known TV actors struggling to deliver a performance worthy of a movie, most of the time the actors were over acting and finding little connection with the piece. Phillip Jackson, Eddie Marsan and Joanna Scanlan all give a good account of themselves as well as a great performance by SARAH HADLAND and her assistant played by ROLAND MANOOKIAN who only feature in the movie briefly. Sadly i believe its another British film that will struggle at the box office, due to a lackluster cast, and mediocre direction.
chrisanddelilah
I saw Grow Your Own at a test screening and while it's not edgy indie fare, it was properly funny. The audience laughed loud and frequently, it was well crafted and overall I thought the film delivered. It felt to me like one of the better Ealing Comedies, focusing as it does on an insular community of allotment growers being forced to accommodate unexpected change from outsiders, in this case traumatised refugees. The cast included familiar comic types like Olivia Coleman and Omid Djalili (both excellent) and Benedict Wong (Sunshine) is riveting as an emotionally scared asylum seeker with a horrifying story to tell. Some story lines were better than others but where the film worked brilliantly was showing how loneliness, trauma and thoughtless behaviour are balanced by kind words and community spirit without resorting to sentimentalism or unrealistic plot twists. Really entertaining.
AD
