This Beautiful Fantastic film review.

​By Adam Ray Palmer
 
Out on DVD and download yesterday, we scribble down a bite-sized review of This Beautiful Fantastic.
 
Written and directed by Simon Aboud; This Beautiful Fantastic stars Jessica Brown Findlay, Tom Wilkinson, Andrew Scott and Jeremy Irvine.

This Beautiful Fantastic tells the touching story of Bella (Findlay), a shy, obsessive librarian who likes to line up her peas and eat her food in neatly cut bits. The film eludes to her troubled past for the reason of her adolescent tendencies when she was left in a park and survived due to ducks keeping her warm… maybe getting her ducks in a row so to speak!
 
As an adult living alone, Bella lives a routine life and works to pay her bills; but would much rather stay indoors in her pristine apartment. She’s not yet reclusive but her distrust of nature has led to her neglecting her garden. This is where she meets her irritable neighbour Alfie (Wilkinson). Due to terms in her lease, she must tidy up the garden within a month or she is at risk of being kicked out. She is helped by Alfie, and his cook Vernon (Scott) to clean up the shoddy landscape. All isn’t so simple here though, she also has to juggle a budding crush on an awkward inventor named Billy (Irvine) who regularly visits her library.

This British dramedy is a cute tale. It has principles of a Disney picture with a Lemony Snicket type narration. This narration makes for a nice added differentiator to other indie comedies. Another pleasant addition is the switch between reality and imagination, it’s neatly handled and a welcomed reliever. However, most of the grit happens in the reality world Simon Aboud has created.
 
The cinematography on show here is also of interest, with whimsical shots of the garden as the camera seems to celebrate the colourful flowers. The direction is quite clearly has a penchant for following the beauty here. The visuals lend the movie to more of a nice DVD watch rather than a cinematic experience and that’s okay – especially now you can buy it!
 
The whole cast offer good performances with charming quips, making the most of their screen time. As smaller budget indies go, This Beautiful Fantastic just about delivers what it intends to do. It’s easy on the eye and will sit nicely in your DVD collection.
 
Cineroom’s rating: 3 stars
 
This Beautiful Fantastic is out now on DVD and digital download – certificate PG