Adapted from Philippa Pearce’s 1958 novel, Tom’s Midnight Garden must’ve seemed a bit of an anachronism in 1999, and now feels inconceivable as a British movie, featuring as it does an entirety middle-class set of characters without any ‘gritty’ urban yoof elements. But for those in search of more traditional family entertainment, it’s not a bad take on the story.

Anthony Way stars as Tom, a fourteen year old who is sent to live with his aunt and uncle while his little brother recovers from measles. Bored in their (rather large) flat, he soon finds a new source of interest when he hears a clock strike thirteen and, venturing downstairs, discovers a huge garden. None of the Victorian-looking people in the garden seem to be able to see him, except Hatty (Florence Hoath and, later, Caroline Carver), an equally lonely young girl. Soon, they form a bond, with Tom sneaking down every night – though in Hatty’s world, months go by between each visit. Each believes the other to be a ghost, though eventually Tom realises that some sort of time slip is occurring. But as Hatty gets older, the two begin to drift apart…

This mix of drama, the supernatural and science fiction is handsomely mounted, but suffers with an unappealing lead – not only is Way rather wooden (this was, unsurprisingly, his only film) but his character is hard to relate to, being a bit of an ungrateful little shit in early scenes, to be blunt. And he’s overly childish – set at a time when fourteen year olds were still leaving school and starting work, his interest in dancing around a garden seems rather childish.

But with decent performances from Carver, Greta Scacchi and Joan Plowright, the film manages to come together quite nicely. It more or less resists any attempt to modernise the story, and so has a rather nostalgic charm to it. There are odd moments – when Tom’s brother appears as a ghostly visitor, you expect it to lead somewhere, but it doesn’t, and the idea of non-linear time slippage is only explored in passing, with a single scene seeing Tom encountering a younger Hatty.And modern day wraparound is pointless too.

Still, these are minor points. While not particularly memorable, Tom’s Midnight Garden is a decent adaptation of the much-loved story, and refreshingly lacking in cynicism. I’ve no idea if kids today will relate to it or not, but I suspect they might, once the story takes hold. In the absence of the 1974 BBC version, it’s worth a look.

DAVID FLINT

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