I've Always Wanted a Secret Garden...

There's a little patch of our backyard between the house and the fence that has always seemed separate from the rest of the yard, and for years we talked about turning it into a "secret garden". On Saturday we took that possibility one step further when we bought a pair of trellises and some flowers to crawl up them. It will make a nice entrance if we can get some things to grow back there. Interestingly, when we were at my uncle's house on Monday, he happened to pull out The Secret Garden and suggested we watch it after dinner. This was the very film that had inspired the idea in the first place back when we saw it years ago. Of course, our little bit of Earth is much smaller, much less mysterious and unlikely to attract lambs, ducks and ferrets, but it's a start...

The Secret Garden is a classic work of literature by Frances Hodgson Burnett about a dour, neglected, rich girl who comes to live in her uncle's estate after her parents' deaths. The 1993 version that we watched the other day is not the first adaptation of this book; several others have been made, including a made-for-television version that I recall seeing many years ago but don't remember very well except for the fact that when it ended, the children had grown up. This version, directed by Agnieszka Holland, includes no such glimpse of the future, leaving us to imagine what happens to the three children who help bring the titular garden back to life.

The film begins in India, where Mary Lennox (Kate Maberly) is used to being treated like royalty, though her parents ignore her. When they die in an earthquake, she goes off to a dreary castle in England owned by her uncle, Lord Craven (John Lynch), who spends most of the film away on business, partly to escape the memories of his deceased wife, the twin sister of Mary's mother. Mary is quite the sourpuss in the beginning, snapping at everyone who comes near, but thanks to some encouragement from the sunny young servant Martha (Laura Crossley), she begins to explore the grounds, where she finds friendship, first with a robin and then with Martha's brother Dickon (Andrew Knott), and stumbles upon a hidden door that opens into her aunt's beloved garden.

Soon she and Dickon are spending every day in the garden, clearing away ten years' worth of dead leaves and brush and watching blossoms spring up all around them. Mary is no longer nearly so contrary, though she still butts heads with Mrs. Medlock (Maggie Smith), the severe head housekeeper, especially after Mary discovers that she has a cousin, Colin (Heydon Prowse), who's been kept shut up in his room all his life. Though he and the staff are convinced he could drop dead at any moment, Mary isn't so sure, and she gradually coaxes Colin outside, where he too is transformed by the joy of nature and friendship.

The cinematography is beautiful, especially when we linger on the secret garden, which is teeming with life. There are several time-elapsed sequences in which we see various flowers blossom and trees change color. The effect is impressive, and though Lord Craven tells Mary he ought to send her away because there is nothing here for a child, this strikes me as an amazing place to spend one's tender years.

Maberly brings Mary to life very well, initially making her as obnoxious as Veruca Salt in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory but slowly softening until she is both joyful and considerate. Colin follows a similar path, and Prowse, who never appeared in another film, is quite effective as the pampered, overly sheltered cousin Mary never knew she had, and his reaction to his first taste of the outside world is affecting. Knott's Dickon stands in contrast to both of them, slightly older and vigorous from a life spent outdoors. There's a moment toward the end of the film that suggests a future rivalry between the boys for Mary's affections; Mary is closer to both boys than they are to each other, but generally the three of them get along fine. Crossley's cheerful portrayal of Martha offsets Mary's initial crossness. Though I think of her as being several years older than Dickon, Crossley and Prowse are the same age.

Of the adults, we don't see much of Lord Craven, but Lynch puts in a melancholy performance that is more haunting than intimidating. Walter Sparrow has a brief role as Ben Weatherstaff, a faithful groundskeeper who eventually befriends the children. But probably my favorite performance is Smith's, in an antagonistically authoritarian role reminiscent of her Mother Superior in Sister Act. While Mrs. Medlock's treatment of Mary is sometimes vindictive, she truly does care for Colin and is concerned for his well-being, fearing Mary is getting him too riled up and endangering his health. She's an easy character to loathe, but Smith puts just the right touch of humanity into this strict woman to make her sympathetic.

I can't compare this to other versions of Burnett's classic tale, but it succeeds so beautifully as a moving family film that I'd be surprised to learn that another adaptation managed the task more effectively. The Secret Garden is a movie that should not be kept a secret.