User reviews

Really enjoyable romantic comedy set in London (I think Marylebone High street) about a small Cafe / Bakery. A great cast led by the always brilliant Celia Imrie makes you engage with the storyline. A feel good movie that left me with a smile on my face. I hope you like it.

After a tragic event occurs to a young woman named Sarah, her daughter Clarissa (Shannon Tarbet) makes the decision to her complete her mother's long term dream of opening a bakery in London. But when it comes to owning a business or baking, Clarissa isn't able to do this task on her own. She seeks assistance and support from her Grandma, Mimi (Celia Imrie), and Sarah's best friend, Isabella (Shelley Conn). Together these three women begin to renovate an old shop and transform it into something beautiful, also employing a young chef to assist with the baking.

Love Sarah is a film that doesn't take long to introduce the story or the ladies. Some elements in the setup are more implied which I enjoyed, plus it means the plot gets underway immediately instead of making the story slow, depressing and oppressive.

Performances by the leading ladies are lovely (especially from Celia Imrie who I always have a soft spot for). All characters here have chemistry on-screen when they interact with each other. Each character also brings a different set of skills when it comes to running a bakery due to their personal experiences. The film also focuses on the expertise of different generations, which was a lovely touch too. To my surprise, this film isn't just a drama. There are other aspects to this film, including romance, comedy and even the ingredient of mystery which I also found pleasing.

Another element I wanted to share about is the film's beautiful music score which was composed by Enis Rotthoff. It's truly a perfect match for this film, and I found the music alone moving at times. The director should also be mentioned. Love Sarah was directed by Eliza Schroeder, and according to IMBD this film is her very first feature film. As a first time director for a feature film, the results here are impressive, and the director should be proud of what she has achieved. There is a genuine freshness to this story and film.

While I have plenty of praise for this film, I do have one major issue which was extremely unfortunate. While it wasn't a constant issue, there was more than once where the style of filming was disappointing. During crucial scenes, the camera moves around and feels unpolished when compared to the rest of the film. There was one scene in particular which I was shocked was left in the final version of the movie due to the way it was filmed.

Overall, like a freshly-baked cake, Love Sarah is refreshing and delightful. While the film is classed as a drama, it contains an incredibly heartfelt story with the added ingredients of both humour and mystery. Performances are also fantastic, and I felt the leading ladies had beautiful chemistry together. All these ingredients will make the movie lover crave another slice as the credits roll.

7.4/10 - Walkden Entertainment

Definitely not a comedy, but has funny moments, more romance than anything, well written and acted story. I wasn't disappointed.

This is a lovely story where you see beautiful cakes, lovely people and lots of happiness for everyone. What is there not to like!

Judging from the other reviews, this movie seems to have divided opinions. From a purely technical point of view, in my opinion, the movie is very well made. A nice story, well structured screenplay, and good performances from a quite impressive cast. My guess is the themes explored around loss and grief may not be everyone's cup of tea but it really depends what you are looking for. Again though, I thought it was a nice little watch.

I like to start with the positives about a film I review after all 6/10 is an average to good score from me . I'll begin with the delicious cakes and pastries that feature in the film and are provided by the bestselling food writer and restaurateur author and chef Yotam Ottolenghi especially the Matcha Mille crepe cake used in the plot.

I was amazed to read this very light weight script that took 3 people to write Eliza Schroeder (also director ) a mistake in my opinion as this is her first major film .Other writers were Mahalia Rimmer, and Jake Brunger who also wrote the screenplay.

The film is about a young woman who enlists the help of her mother's best friend and her eccentric estranged grandmother to fulfil her late mother's dream of opening a bakery in Notting Hill. It is now shooting in London.

The Director Elizabeth Schroeder said in an interview about the film "Having lost my mother whilst developing the film, my perspective on the outcome and the story I wanted to tell changed. Creating a story that was uplifting and touching whilst dealing with loss in my life became very important to me." and the film is dedicated to her late mother which is fitting. Luckily for Love Sarah, its cast abounds in talent and their chemistry is enjoyable to watch and easy to root for. The kind of feel good family drama Love Sarah wants to be is somewhere in this film, but hidden under layers of unnecessary character backstory and too many plot threads.

Celia Imrie as Mimi is delightful as the bittersweet Grandmother and the Supporting cast of Rupert Penry -Jones as Matthew in a relaxed romantic role of not much substance is also good. I also enjoyed Shelley Conn as Isabella and Shannon Tarbet as Clarissa the granddaughter. I was only talking about mediocre script writing recently and this film would fit in that category like a beautifully decorated that when tasted sometimes disappoints when tasted " Love Sarah " to my taste is just average.

Exactly the kind of film I was in the mood for, and it didn't disappoint. Good cast. Nice little plot. And there was a subtext about family and community.

Not going win too many awards but pleasant enough entertainment

This is a "lovely" movie. Everyone is "nice". It is like the wonderful confections that are the centre of the story. I don't need to warn of spoilers in this review because there is nothing in the "plot" to give away. From the first ten minutes, the viewer can guess what is going to happen in the following hour, expecting a twist that never comes. This is so politically correct and sweet that it is frightening. Is this where movies are headed? Are we going to have (female) directors who have nothing to say and say it with a smile? There is no edge to this story. My 5 stars goes entirely to the actors. As expected, Celia Imrie, Shelley Conn, Bill Paterson and Penry-Jones give thoroughly professional performances, almost as though someone is paying them. I can't imagine that any of them did this with a view to achieving social justice or changing the political landscape. " ..... and they all lived happily ever after."

Starts off strong but then can't decide what it is, and quickly descends into Hallmark Movie of the Week but without the production values. There's no coherent plot. One of the side characters appears to have a point but then doesn't, epically. The romance is confusing and unnecessary. Celia Imrie and Bill Paterson are so much better than this.

To start, this movie was a very nice change after of all the bad that followed the world 2020 due to Covid. Although the story starts out very sad it turns into a very heart warming tale. If our movie theaters were open (they are not yet in the Pacific NW of USA) I would have gladly paid full price to go see it. There isn't much trivia about it here on IMBD but I wonder if it was written from the writers own personal experience, in relation to loss. At the end of the movie there was a "remembrance" of a person who passed, as well as the song at the end, about love, missing you, its all for you (or something like that)? Maybe I just noticed (or perceived that) because I have felt that tremendous loss after my son passed. Anyway, I found this to be a joyful, wonderful story of love, loss and resilience. Thumbs up to the writer, directorial staff and the actors and actresses!

If you enjoy movies that are telegraphed from every possible angle, this is the film for you. There is not a single surprise or twist to the story at any stage of the movie. The premise could have been interesting, but at every turn the bland and featureless dialog is like listening to a 'learn to speak english' audiobook. The chemistry between the characters was negligible, especially the two bakers who you could see flinch in their big kissing scene (which of course you could predict from the moment they met with absolutely no nuance). On top of all of the haphazard and predictable acting and script, the sets must have been made on a very limited budget, as the head female baker lived in a flat that looked like a bargain airbnb without any paintings or personal touches at all. The grandmother's home was quirky and well put-together and the only high point of the movie. The bakery shop set was contrived and a health inspector's worst nightmare with cakes displayed all around the shop without any covering and customers able to have a whole cake stand full of goodies on their table which they could eat as many cakes as they liked and then gave the stand back for other customers. It would have been so easy to have someone order a cake and coffee and have those on the table as per a real bakery cafe. As for the premise that London is a multicultural city and people from "diverse' backgrounds such as Indians wanting a taste of home not being able to get them is ridiculous and insulting. If I am missing bakery treats from my homeland the literally thousands of restaurants and cafes with legitimate cultural backgrounds would be the first stop. Eek! Can't believe I've written so much about such a lacklustre movie. The friend I went to see this movie with and I spent half of it making jokes and laughing about all the 'Captain obvious' lines. Stale and tasteless as a week old croissant.

The cast, the setting, the potential, it had it all; but (yes, there is a but) the mix turned out quite poor lacking in any substance, depth or real flavour for a light comedy. Subplots lacking relevance, character histories not making sense, and a story line that failed the most basic of formulas. We watched this with hope, expecting it to all come together just a bit later, but...

....if you are going to do the laundry, house chores or file your nails, then leave it on in the background, just don't have any expectations. I've read positive reviews on here and can normally understand why some movies are enjoyed by certain people and not others. This one I/we don't.

A delightful film in every aspect that lifts the mood and implores us to be less cynical. In these times and hereafter, more bridges have to be built and we have to look after each other and this film celebrates that to the hilt!

I was left with such a sweet, lingering feeling at the end that I felt grateful to the entire team for making it...It must have taken a great deal of conviction to do that.

Turning loss into something special and powerful takes tremendous amount of work. Loss pushes us to think of what really matters and we hopefully learn to value humanity, kindness and affection much more. That message truly comes across in this film.

All departments excel. Production Design and Cinematography as well as Music, Costumes and Sound Design offer a lovely view of London. The script helps us focus on the good in people and in that holds a mirror. An amazing achievement for the producers to have managed to film almost entirely on locations in Notting Hill and they succeed from start to finish. Remember, this is an independent film without any studio backing and it has superb production values!

Special mention to its director! It's her debut film!!!! It is extremely difficult to get a film made no matter who you are, and Eliza shines with her quiet grace, her personal sense of style and her determination to make a film of value. I am not surprised that the film has sold many worldwide territories already.

I read some unpleasant reviews on IMDb and I found them extremely counter-productive. There was no reason to be nasty and mannerless when personal disappointment could have been conveyed constructively.

In any case, I am sure this film will reach audiences across the world and in these dark times, give them a reason to smile...

15 Minutes - and the plot is yours....

No spoilers needed... 😁

Had to watch as took mum in law, but if i was on my own or partner i would of been outta there so fast. after 10 min I thought what is making this so awful and came to the conclusion a big part was the direction someone didnt have a clue what they were doing certainly didnt know how to direct the talent. long pauses ,slow, rubbish mills and boon script . so much wrong with this really the brits need to take a hard long look at what they are doing. I have decided I wont be going to another lame,corny british film I can stream top quality european movies why on earth would i watch british tat

Pretentious and pointless movies with little to say and takes a long time saying it. It isn't romantic and there is not much in the way of laughs or comedy. It is just a meandering mess with little entertainment value and the acting isn't that great either though with the story and script given to them I would forgive the cast for that.

No role here is an original, no conflict in this movie is a novelty. But all the leads do their job so very well, topped by Celia Imrie, who's as charming as ever, and still does the best naughty sparkle in the eyes I've seen. And I've come to realize that that's what really important - if the actors do their job well and one learn to care for the characters they portray - the movie will work. It may not be a masterpiece, it doesn't pretend it is - a line I used before because I don't mind whether it's a masterpiece or not, I want to see a story about characters I care for.

And one more point I've made before - it's not really a comedy - it's a life story and like most life stories it does have funny moments. Funny moment don't mean one is watching a comedy and "comedy drama" - the IMDb classification term - is as far as I'm concerned - a non term. I've watched many so called "comedy dramas" non of them was really a comedy. A few funny moments means you have a writer with a sense of humor, that's good, a sense of humor is an important ingredient of our lives - it doesn't make our lives a comedy it just makes our lives more real and relatable.

Really not worth watching.

Just like the entire year 2020, a complete write-off.

Weak story and pointlessly long paused scenes.

In line with other British dramas/romantic comedies, the characters and storyline are there to deliver a funny/sad/uplifting drama. However, the film sadly falls flat. The script just does not deliver, there are no witty or clever lines just continual monotony. The story line is fairly typical so cannot survive on its own. Could have been as good as 'Finding Your Feet' but misses the mark. I fell asleep!

Well written and well acted but my god it's like wading through treacle wearing a 1940s deep sea divers outfit, steel boots and helmet. It also must be nice to have a nice rich grannie when you're out of work and want to open a bakery.

It's also incredibly predictable as a storyline with posh people and their love lives. I'm sure some people will enjoy it, but I suspect they may be single ladies with a lot of cats. Overall I think I've spent better evenings on guard duty on a rainy winters night, and a bit more interesting too.

The acting however, is very good and the characters obviously enjoyed making it more than I enjoyed watching.

I read the synopsis and liked the sound of this film and it didn't disappoint. I'm not sure what the lower rating critics were expecting but this is just a lovely watchable film and is 'what it says on the tin'!