Between the Pages

As it turns out, this oddly titled movie is in fact perfectly titled, because this little gem is both beautiful and fantastic.

Jessica Brown Findlay is perfect as Bella Brown, a young woman who started life as a foundling baby, raised in a strict Catholic orphanage, and now lives a reclusive life, working in a library, and apparently having no non-essential contact with anyone else.

She very obviously has OCD although this is not specifically stated. But while her house is completely ordered and everything is in exactly it’s right place, the same does not apply to the garden – in fact, so unruly and overgrown has she allowed the garden to become, that she is threatened with eviction if she cannot get it sorted out within a month.

Her curmudgeonly neighbour Alfie (the always brilliant Tom Wilkinson) begrudgingly gets involved, and his former cook the widowed Vernon (Andrew Scott), who leaves Alfie’s employ after one too many insults, starts working for Bella. Alfie and Vernon become the first real friends Bella has ever had, and as the garden takes bloom, so indeed does Bella – but I won’t say more, as I think anyone watching this should see the story unfold and be as captivated by it as I was.

There is something quite magical about this film; it’s whimsical and sweet, and I ended up loving every character. The three main cast members could not be bettered, and there is a small but excellent supporting cast including Anna Chancellor as Bella’s exasperated – and exasperating boss. It left me smiling and I would honestly recommend this film to anyone who wants a film that will make your day better.