Story of gardening inmate lacks flair
Greenfingers
*** Out of five stars
Rated: R for language and some sexuality
Starring: Clive Owen, David Kelly, Helen Mirren
Fireworks/Samuel Goldwyn Films
By Geronimo Rodriguez
Daily Cougar Staff
Inspired by the true gardening exploits of British prisoners, Greenfingers
is a touching story about how a man turns his life around by planting a
few seeds. The story will please
audiences with a few laughs and a couple of heartfelt moments.
In the film, the sun doesn't shine too brightly for Colin Briggs (Clive
Owen), a prisoner who is sent to Edgefield, an open prison, to finish the
end of his sentence. Colin continues to
find nothing good in life until he befriends a "lifer," Fergus Wilks
(David Kelly, Waking Ned Devine), who introduces him to gardening with
a packet of seeds.
Photo courtesy of Fireworks Pictures
Colin Briggs (Clive Owen) is a prison inmate who finds
new meaning in life when he's introduced to gardening in Greenfingers.
From here on, "Greenfingers" follows Colin as his life changes for the
better once flowers begin to blossom from the prison's hard soil. He goes
from plunging toilets to creating
unconventional gardening techniques. Other prisoners' lives improve
as well when they pull unwanted weeds and begin to plant their own seeds.
In a way, Greenfingers is similar to The Full Monty. Both of these films
tell a humorous, sentimental story about society's throwaways confronted
with adversity. There isn't much
separating the two movies in concept, although the plot devices are
different. But the characters in Greenfingers aren't as ripe as the characters
in The Full Monty.
Owen and Kelly lead the cast exceptionally well, but the acting merely
supports the film's message. That is, their characters are simply likeable
in a story that is more memorable.
Director Joel Hershman deserves most of the credit for making Greenfingers
an above-average film. While the story's material isn't fresh, the filmmaker
relies on more than a few
ideas to avoid the fluff that usually finds ways to harm films such
as this.
Hershman, who also wrote Greenfingers, lets in just enough of everything
to let this simple idea grow into an enjoyable story. However, the film
could have been more rewarding if he would have given the characters and
their situations more range.
