The Presence of Love

After faithfully watching Hallmark movies for years, this film finally broke the mold of predictable formulaic Hallmark plots. There was no big city girl returning to her home town to help fix the cupcake bakery or the seasonal festival, help because Dad hurt his back or broke a leg, meet her old boyfriend, review why they broke up, have an almost kiss, an accidental misunderstanding, and get it all resolved by the last 5 minutes.

Here is a story of real emotion, real life issues, professional conflicts, personal struggle with anxiety, loss, sadness, and unresolved relationships. Here is a sensitive young woman, searching for answers in both a professional and a family crisis of her own, opening herself to risks and unknowns to help her resolve her sadness.

The acting on the part of Eloise Mumford, the young child, and the granny were spot on. Truly sensitive, deep interpretations of their roles. Sadly, the leading man was bit bland and one-note, but nevertheless presented a solid rock to lean on for the young woman in her personal emotional search.

The scenery was just breathtaking! It added drama and seriousness to the story. The exploration of the child's dyslexia was done with great sensitivity. The issue of professional conflict and creative blocks had a real life quality to it. Addressing personal depression, anxiety, medication, and the helplessness of such moments is a real departure for Hallmark and is so welcome in our current world.

And yes, as a previous reviewer noted, how and why did the young woman manage to pack 4 coats and a jacket in her suitcase for such short trip? But one has to forgive such filming gaffes. This was a Hallmark movie, after all. Not everything needs to make sense.

Here is a film truly worth watching, and truly a departure for Hallmark, which has become so formulaic that one can predict almost everything in most moves before it happens. Not here. This is a gem!! More of the same, please!!

The college professor ( Joss) leaves on a surprise gifted trip for 10 days to England, where she will reconnect with some family roots and history.

Did she really need to pack FOUR (blue, pink, tweed, red) coats, and a green reversible jacket?

Samantha Bond gives the strongest performance of all cast members. She presents her character well, and in my opinion, carries the show.

The storyline is ok, but needs strengthening in a few places.

Here we go again, the woman staying with a man she only met recently... however... let's start at the beginning

Joss is working hard on a paper in order to get tenure at a university. Her mother, who has passed away, left her for her birthday a trip to the farm she grew up in England. There she meets Daniel, his daughter and his mom who own and live in said farm.

I like that it tackled serious issues like anxiety, dyslexia, abandonment, a failed marriage, struggles with money and not your typical "I don't have a boyfriend for my ex's wedding so let's pretend you are it (I do love a pretend relationship but you understand my point). Hallmark movies and mysteries tend to go the extra mile and this was no exception.

The scenery was beautiful, the cast was great specially the actress playing little Tegan, she was adorable. They all had great chemistry. I also liked that they kind of left the ending hanging for you to figure out what will happen. We all knew what was going to happen though, right?

Which leads to me to the point of Joss leaving behind her life to be with a guy she barely knew. I understand why she gave up tenure and I really hope she spent the following months travelling through Europe and then chose to come back to Daniel and his family.

Yep, that's definitely what happened.

I like the cast. They do a good job.

Eloise Mumford is not your average "peppy - happy", fake, blonde lead, which is great. What I like about her is that she is "real" and she has this fragility about her - in this case - perfect for the anxious Joss.

Male lead, supporting mum and daughter are good. There is chemistry between all of them.

The storyline, although predictable, is more original than most romance films.

The scenery of course, is gorgeous.

My only, big, problem is with the sound. I struggled to understand what they were saying, most of the time. You have lead actors who are soft spoken, a lot of outdoor scenes and, instead of making sure the dialogue is audible, you add music. This had a huge impact on my enjoyment of this film.

This was an absolutely beautiful movie and the best I have seen in some time. The acting was superb and the sweet little girl stole the show. The story of love, loss, and struggle is one that we can all identify with and the true emotions expressed came through so well. The attraction and connection between the two leads was real and not forced or silly as in many of the Hallmark movies. And the scenery of Cornwall was not only stunning, but also provided the metaphor of standing on a cliff trying to summon the courage to move away and move on. Having also lost a mother much too soon, the scene of Joss finally letting go near the end was just so very touching. I wish this movie had been longer. I did not want it to end. Let's have more movies like this with a wonderful story and strong characters that move us to tears and allow us to smile.