The Secret Garden (2020 film)

In 1947, Mary Lennox is found abandoned, in her home in British India, her parents having died from cholera and she is forgotten in the turmoil of partition. Mary is sent away to her uncle, Lord Archibald Craven's Misselthwaite Manor in Yorkshire, England. She is an unpleasant and unkind young girl who has had to repress her own emotions whilst growing up in the Raj.

Upon arriving in England she meets Mrs Medlock, a strict and firm lady who is Lord Craven's servant and housekeeper. Mary is instructed to not explore the house and is confined to her room at night. There, she meets Martha, a servant who is unsettled by her demands. Mary is allowed to leave the house to explore the estate and woods nearby and stumbles upon a stray dog whom she names Jemima. Later that night, she hears tiny screams and wailings throughout the corridors only to find Lord Craven's bedridden son, Colin Craven. The next day, Lord Craven sees Mary in his study and confides in her to not cause any trouble. Mary continues her escapade of heading to the forest in which she finds a hidden garden by climbing a wall. Later, on the way home, she calls out to Martha's brother Dickon who fades within the mist of the moors. Later she finds Jemima's leg caught in a trap. She helps Jemima by freeing her from the trap but the dog runs away into the garden. Subsequently Mary continues to explore the garden

Mary is then guided by a Robin to a stone statue within the garden which has a key to the garden within it. She leaves the garden as Mrs. Medlock calls out for her. Back at the estate, Mary meets with Colin again as he talks about having a hunchback and is not able to walk. She reveals to him the garden on their estate but Colin is uninterested. She later snoops around, finding a room with pictures of both Mary's mother and Grace Craven. She grabs a souvenir, a pearl necklace.

The next day, Mary heads back into the garden to find Dickon who offers to help heal Jemima. Mary then brings Colin on his wheelchair for the first time to the same room with his mother's pictures and dresses. Both Mary and Dickon hatch a plan to bring Colin to the garden in hopes of healing his immobility, But upon returning, Mrs Medlock confronts Mary for stealing the pearl necklace and she is reprimanded by being sent to a boarding school. Later confined and locked in her room, Mary finds letters written by Grace Craven in a rocking horse. She persuades Colin to read them and the three continue reading letters in the garden.

A depressed and distracted Lord Craven in his study, tries to light a candle but sets the desk on fire. The next morning, Mary, Dickon and Colin are in the garden when they notice black smoke coming from the house. Colin persuades Mary and Dickon to leave him to check it out. Mary enters the burning house to find a frantic Mr Craven looking for his son in the blazing fire. She tries in vain to convince him to escape as his son is safe outside, but he resists until he sees the ghost of his wife, Grace who guides them out safely. The fire brigade arrives and the two leave safely. An anxious Lord Craven and Mrs Medlock are brought by Mary and Dickon to Colin in the secret garden. Lord Craven gazes in awe at his son's mobility as the two rekindle their relationship.

The film ends with Lord Craven rebuilding the estate and Mary, Dickon and Colin all having fun in the secret garden.

• Dixie Egerickx as Mary Lennox
• Colin Firth as Lord Archibald Craven
• Julie Walters as Mrs. Medlock
• Edan Hayhurst as Colin Craven
• Amir Wilson as Dickon
• Isis Davis as Martha
• Maeve Dermody as Alice

It was announced in June 2016 that Heyday Films and StudioCanal had teamed up to adapt the book into a new movie version, hiring Jack Thorne to write the screenplay.[3]

In January 2018, Marc Munden was set to direct.[4] Colin Firth and Julie Walters were cast in April 2018 as filming commenced at the end of that month.[5][6][7][8][9]

Some of the film was filmed in Yorkshire.[10][11] Filming has also taken place within Iford Manor Gardens,[12] near Bath and the National Trust site of Bodnant Gardens, near Conwy, North Wales.[13] Filming locations also include Woodhall Estate, Hertfordshire, Trebah Gardens, Cornwall, Harlaxton Manor in Lincolnshire, Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens, Dorset & Puzzlewood, Forest of Dean and Helmsley Walled Garden in North Yorkshire as well as Tilbury landing stage.

This is the second time Colin Firth has acted in a film adaptation of The Secret Garden. The other version was released 33 years earlier, and was one of Firth's earliest films.

The Secret Garden was originally set to be released by StudioCanal UK on 3 April 2020, but two weeks before the release the date was pushed back to 14 August 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[14][15] In August 2020, Sky purchased the British distribution rights to the film, and released it in the United Kingdom theatrically and on the Sky Cinema channels on 23 October 2020.[16] STX Entertainment handled the American release, distributing it via Premium VOD on 7 August 2020.[17] Global Road Entertainment had initially acquired the North American distribution rights in May 2018,[18] but sold them to STXfilms in March 2019.[19][20]

• The Secret Garden on IMDb