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Magic Beyond Words: The J.K. Rowling Story

  • TV Movie
  • 2011
  • TV-14
  • 1h 30m
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
2.9K
YOUR RATING
Magic Beyond Words: The J.K. Rowling Story (2011)
Magic Beyond Words , the J K Rowling story dramatizes the British author's struggle to bring the beloved wizard fantasy of Harry Potter to life as a single mother on welfare and become one of the world's wealthiest women. the film is an inspiring look at
Play trailer1:54
1 Video
13 Photos
BiographyDrama

An inspiring look at JK Rowling's rise to become one of the most influential writers-from her humble beginnings as an imaginative young girl and awkward teenager to the loss of her mother an... Read allAn inspiring look at JK Rowling's rise to become one of the most influential writers-from her humble beginnings as an imaginative young girl and awkward teenager to the loss of her mother and the genesis of the Harry Potter phenomenon.An inspiring look at JK Rowling's rise to become one of the most influential writers-from her humble beginnings as an imaginative young girl and awkward teenager to the loss of her mother and the genesis of the Harry Potter phenomenon.

  • Director
    • Paul A. Kaufman
  • Writers
    • Jeffrey Berman
    • Tony Caballero
    • Sean Smith
  • Stars
    • Poppy Montgomery
    • Emily Holmes
    • Antonio Cupo
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.6/10
    2.9K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Paul A. Kaufman
    • Writers
      • Jeffrey Berman
      • Tony Caballero
      • Sean Smith
    • Stars
      • Poppy Montgomery
      • Emily Holmes
      • Antonio Cupo
    • 18User reviews
    • 10Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 4 wins & 11 nominations total

    Videos1

    Magic Beyond Words
    Trailer 1:54
    Magic Beyond Words

    Photos13

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    Top cast61

    Edit
    Poppy Montgomery
    Poppy Montgomery
    • Joanne K. Rowling
    Emily Holmes
    Emily Holmes
    • Diane Rowling
    Antonio Cupo
    Antonio Cupo
    • Jorge Arantes
    Janet Kidder
    Janet Kidder
    • Anne Rowling
    Madison Desjarlais
    • Joanne Rowling at 17
    Andy Maton
    • Christopher Little
    Aislyn Watson
    Aislyn Watson
    • Joanne Rowling at 8
    Marie West
    Marie West
    • Aine
    Lisa Norton
    Lisa Norton
    • Jill
    Paul McGillion
    Paul McGillion
    • Pete Rowling
    Sarah Desjardins
    Sarah Desjardins
    • Diane Rowling (13-15)
    Christine Chatelain
    Christine Chatelain
    • Bryony
    Wesley MacInnes
    Wesley MacInnes
    • Sean Harris
    Patti Allan
    Patti Allan
    • Mrs. Morgan
    Greigh Laschuk
    • Dr. Neil Murray
    Charles Jarman
    Charles Jarman
    • Amnesty International Supervisor
    Glynis Davies
    Glynis Davies
    • Case Worker
    Andrew Kavadas
    Andrew Kavadas
    • Professor Nettleship
    • Director
      • Paul A. Kaufman
    • Writers
      • Jeffrey Berman
      • Tony Caballero
      • Sean Smith
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews18

    6.62.8K
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    10

    Featured reviews

    2chrisjdyer-87552

    Sycophantic drivel

    That a load of sycophantic drivel. The acting is at best - poor but it's still far more convincing than the script.

    Her school was nothing like the school described in the film. But that's true of so many other things in the film too. How on earth did any of the actors or crew keep a straight face when they pretended that British Rail trains had a sweet trolly? Some did have a sandwich trolley - but very few people were ever brave enough to try to eat one of the dreaded sandwiches. As for tripe sweets? What? More like a load of tripe fim.

    Whoever did the research for this film really needs to look at a different career.

    My daughter was a huge Happy Potter fan when she was younger and even she thought this film was about as entertaining as a headache. This waste of peoples time is just a crass attempt to make money from someone else's fame. Why work hard to achieve anything yourself when you can just make a film about some who did?
    2sianabnett

    As usual, the chocolate box view of Britain

    OK viewing for a damp winters day when there is nothing else on the box and your DVD player is on the blink. Research is laughable (if it was done at all)

    Knowing Tutshill, having attended Wyedean and having worked in Edinburgh, this film shows the typical sickly sweet idealistic old fashioned chocolate box view of "little old England" (but at least they recognised that Edinburgh is in Scotland).

    Maybe I'm being picky, but when making a biopic (authorised or otherwise) surely they should have a far better idea of the locations? It is 8-10 miles from Tutshill to the outer edges of the forest for a start. the uniforms for Wyedean are completely the wrong colours and the badge is a figment of the film makers imagination. All it would have taken was a quick search on Google ...... and don't even get me started on the buildings!!

    As has already been noted by another reviewer, the linguistic differences between us and our North American cousins are very apparent (although I do note that the lead is played by an Australian) the accents throughout are either the typically clipped accents favoured by North American movie makers and the Scottish accents are woefully inaccurate. The language used is about as inaccurate as you can get whilst still speaking English one example being assistance (benefits) i'm surprised they didn't talk about grade school, high school etc.
    6gkangchs

    It's Lifetime! What did you expect?

    Factually, definitely Wikipedia-based, which means most likely not completely accurate. Nobody said it was a documentary; it's fictional, which means they were more concerned about an interesting story than depicting her life. The major points in her life were true, like the spousal abuse, single motherhood, conjuring up Harry Potter on a train...

    That being said, in terms of entertainment, acting is meh, the script is a joke at times ("liver and tripe"? Really?), but as a writer, it does motivate me to go to my local Starbucks and work on my screenplay. What can I say? It was never a nominee for an Academy Award, but it inspires me.
    6SnoopyStyle

    Lifetime docudrama as good as can be expected

    This is a Lifetime docudrama of JK Rowland's life leading up to the big success of Harry Potter. Is it factual? I can't say. Chances are they took liberties left, right and center. Although there is value to portray her life as a fable that inspired her to the world of Harry Potter. The big events are probably correct, but the little things like the cart on the train is probably added. That is not necessarily dishonest. It is quite expected.

    The story makes poetic sense. And Poppy Montgomery is quite fitting as Rowland. She's probably too pretty to play the part. But she gets the character in the right space. The production value is limited. They're shooting British Columbia for Britain. Obviously it's not the same. And you can definitely tell.
    6mayurpanchamia94

    I N S P I R E D

    A dramatised account of the life of the woman who created Harry Potter, from her humble beginnings as an imaginative young girl and an awkward teenager, through the loss of her mother and becoming a mother herself, to how Harry Potter began.

    Beautifully potrayed by Poppy Montgomery.

    Can be watched and inspired by.

    On Netflix.

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    Related interests

    Ben Kingsley, Rohini Hattangadi, and Geraldine James in Gandhi (1982)
    Biography
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This movie has not been endorsed, supported or even verified by J.K. Rowling.
    • Goofs
      Rowling's parents lament that due to their lack of means, they will have to send their children to "public school" to be educated. In England, a "public school" is a type of privately-run school funded by (prohibitively high) fees - the term "state school" should presumably have been used.
    • Quotes

      JK Rowling: What do you think, will you ever see Harry Potter in there? Not bloody likely.

    • Soundtracks
      Something Very Wrong
      Written by Richard Cummins

      Performed by Richard Cummins

      Courtesy of Electro-Tone Records

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 18, 2011 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • The Biography of J.K. Rowling
    • Filming locations
      • 6742 224 Street, Langley, British Columbia, Canada
    • Production companies
      • The Kaufman Company
      • Commotion Pictures
      • Lifetime Television
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 30m(90 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.78 : 1

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