The Presence of Love

What a wonderful change of pace! This movie had depth, understanding, a steady pace and excellent acting. Such a relief from the annoyingly formulaic movies usually presented. No old boyfriend, no high heels, no saving the old bakery, festival, tree... here we had a lovely background, intertwining stories and themes, well developed characters, and a movie that was complex yet simple. It stays with me and I'll think about this one for a long time.

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.

There are some real high points in this movie that are not typical of this genre. The scenery was gorgeous, the characters were well drawn out with actual problems in their lives, and the overly saccharine plot points were still somewhat palatable. I thought the ending strained credulity, but that didn't ruin the movie at all. I could have used a second part to this -- or even a miniseries.

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 is a lovely film filled with wonderful poetry references and quotes, fabulous views of the English countryside, and a touching exploration of different kinds of loss. There are several themes threading throughout and the film is not afraid to explore difficult subjects, like loss, fear, the expectations of others and ourselves, and difficult personal health or psychological challenges. This doesn't mean it is a heavy movie, but it is not afraid of delving a little deeper than some Hallmark romances, and it is not really light and airy. If the movie were not constricted to 90 minutes, I could see where some themes could have and should have been explored more. Even with the limitations of a television movie framework, I appreciated this one very much. It's not perfect. It's lovely for what it is. I could relate to Joss in certain ways, and I longed to visit Cornwall myself, while watching this movie.