Reviews

Feb 13, 2020

All the actors are talented, but there's nothing to bite on to. This empty lacking. This quirky cutesy. This sugary syrupy. This irksome irritating. THIS BEAUTIFUL FANTASTIC.

Dec 8, 2018

A slight, sweet tale about would-be novelist Bella whose life is governed by rules and checks until she tackles her overgrown garden. It doesn't even try to be subtle with the gardening and spreading your wings metaphors but its four misfits are engaging.

Mar 16, 2018

An ostensible fairy tale of the creative life in London that tries too hard to be eccentric, while also trying too hard to be grounded and realistic. This is one of those idiosyncrasies that you really can't have both ways.

Mar 16, 2018

Writer/director Simon Aboud's film turns out much as you would expect it to, saved by the warmth and expertise of a cast - particularly Andrew Scott as a cook who defects from Alfie to Bella - who deserve better material than this pleasing trifle.

Aug 10, 2017

This Beautiful Fantastic wants to have it both ways: the odd-duck, pretty girl who changes the lives of the men around her for the better, but who is also the main character in her own story, and the effect is murky and downright unsettling.

Jun 25, 2017

Slow but sweet, clichd but charming, if whimsy's your thing you'll dig this offbeat, comedic, family-friendly, flight of fancy...

Jun 15, 2017

Finlay reminds one of a young Winona Ryder as she winsomely juggles learning to garden with letting her guard down, while the always watchable Andrew Scott once again proves to be a scene-stealer with his kindly cook.

May 24, 2017

This movie is like the tourist gift packs for sale at Gatwick or Heathrow airports -- it is Britain In A Box.

Mar 17, 2017

The broad strokes of This Beautiful Fantastic are inarguably the stuff of fairy tales. But its heart is purely human.

Mar 16, 2017

Simon Aboud's whimsical yet slight This Beautiful Fantastic is the latest in the English Garden subgenre, in the vein of The Lady in the Van or A Man Called Ove (which is Swedish but still qualifies).

Mar 16, 2017

Depending on how you take your twee - sparingly or, as is the case in this preciously concocted tale of English misfits, slathered like marmalade over a crumpet - it will either delight or quickly cloy.

Mar 15, 2017

A charming, beautifully photographed modern fairy tale about love and gardening, This Beautiful Fantastic is worth seeing in spite of its dumb deterrent of a title.

Mar 10, 2017

A very low-stakes fairy tale, wrapped in a strained garden metaphor.

Mar 10, 2017

Whimsical, sweet story about friendship, gardening.

Mar 10, 2017

Does for gardening what Babette's Feast did for food and Sideways did for Pinot Noir.

Mar 9, 2017

Aboud ... works some obvious parallels as he tells the story of a timid young woman, her cranky old neighbor and the garden that separates them, but enjoyable performances keep the tale from becoming too heavy-handed.

Mar 9, 2017

An enchanting fairy tale about the revitalization of an oddball young woman who is an aspiring writer.

Mar 8, 2017

Far too precious and eager to please to really deserve its self-description as a fairy tale.

Mar 8, 2017

Like its title, with those synonymous adjectives, Simon Aboud's film strings together a story that strains to be charming while actually being immediately predictable.