The Secret Garden Movie Review

Horse Girl and I just finished reading The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Let me clarify by saying that I finished the book, but Horse Girl did not. Even though she had over three weeks to read it, she still has several chapters to finish. Oi, what to do with her? I told her this would be reflected in her discussion grade as she will not be able to discuss several points with me.

I thought it would be a great idea to watch the movie once we were finished reading and ordered the 1993 version from Netflix. I did that previously with Around the World in Eighty Days and it wasn't quite so bad. It was still off, but not as much. I didn't realize it when I ordered The Secret Garden movie, but it stars Maggie Smith as Mrs. Medlock, the housekeeper. She plays Professor McGonagall in Harry Potter. This turned out to be a bad thing, however, as Horse Girl could not get over the change in character. (Horse Girl much prefers her in Harry Potter!)

Overall, the movie was a poor adaptation of the book. So many things were changed! It was frustrating to watch because we kept pointing out all of the discrepancies. It wasn't just the scenes, either, but the behaviors of the characters that were off. Mrs. Medlock was portrayed as mean, but in the book she's more stern with a kind soul running beneath. Dickon was thoughtful and wise in the book, but is portrayed as somewhat silly and rambunctious in the movie. It could have been a good movie if they had stuck closer to the book.