Redemption in Cherry Springs

The actors are great! The script needs work. Slow.

The first half was soooo slow. The second half picked up. Story was good, actors were good, but something was lacking. Story left loose endings.

This murder mystery is often streamlined with scenes jumping one to another quickly as evidence is gathered for the viewer. At times it feels fast paced and choppy at the same time. Interpersonal scenes are inserted at times developing relationships. Jake is very direct and to the point even with Melody. The focus of the movie is more on the investigation than on any chemistry between the two.

There are a lot of clues. It gets complicated. Something ominous is hanging over Melody which is reinforced by her backstory as an investigative reporter with enemies. Is it related to Tony's murder? Are the mysteries tied together or is something being set up for a sequel?

Some of Melody's activities are illegal and jeopardize potential prosecution, but at one point they acknowledge at least one instance of this. Melody is also careless about her own personal safety, which is one reason I don't like some "amateur detective" mysteries.

This is a good mystery movie even if it is a bit choppy at times. I think that is intentional so as to squeeze more details into the mystery. But Melody's insane carelessness and her B&E's take too much away from the movie for my preferences.

A reporter, Melanie (Rochelle Aytes) returns to her quiet home town and finds herself embroiled in a missing person case and murder in Redemption in Cherry Springs, a Hallmark film from 2021.

Filmed in the Hudson Valley, this film has a very nice feel to it - the scenery was lovely, and the characters who comprise Melanie's friends are likable: Frankie Faison, Keith D. Robinson, etc. You really hope Melanie will decide to stay and not return to New York.

The problem is this is a slow-moving and dull movie with not much intrigue. Everything about it was flat - the mystery, the dialogue, the denouement. Beautiful Rochelle Aytes deserved better as did the rest of the cast.

As I sat down to watch the 2021 Hallmark TV movie "Redemption in Cherry Springs", it was done so without ever having heard about this movie from writers John Bellina, Talia Gonzalez and Lauren Snowden. But I do believe in giving any movie that I haven't already seen a fair chance, so of course "Redemption in Cherry Springs" was given a chance as well.

And I have to say that director Letia Clouston didn't deliver a movie that fell into my liking, and I found very little entertainment and enjoyment in the storyline. So it was quite a drag for me to sit through 84 minutes of subpar narrative of a storyline and plot that I cared very little about.

I was mostly unfamiliar with the cast ensemble in the movie, aside from Frankie Faison. I will say, though, that the actors and actresses did carry the movie well enough, despite the fact of the storyline failing to find grounds with my liking.

"Redemption in Cherry Springs" wasn't a movie that impressed me, and this is not something I will ever return to watch a second time.

My rating of "Redemption in Cherry Springs" lands on a three out of ten stars.