The Locket (2002)

Better Late Then Never

Beautiful, moving film.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

After reading the mostly glowing comments about this movie I decided to rent it despite some suspicions of TV movies. I should have followed my instincts.I tried so hard to warm up to the movie and find merit in it but I just couldn't. The story never draws you in or rings true and the acting is perfunctory at best and laughable at worst. Everything in this production is amateurish.Always a joy to watch, Mary McDonnell may be the only performer to escape this disaster without damaging her career or reputation. I won't even bother checking the name of the leading man - hopefully he's back doing commercials.Even poor Vanessa Redgrave, whom I adore and respect, seemed to be channeling Katherine Hepburn all the time appearing as if she were really drugged in the home. Maybe she needed the money.If I can save one person from wasting 100 minutes on this tripe I will feel vindicated.

The movie opens at the time Michael Keddington is caring for his mother but she eventually passes away, leaving Michael despondent. Taken cue from a doctor-friend's advice, he applies for work at the nursing home. There, he is assigned to take care of Esther and a fledging friendship arise that later becomes a strong bond between them until the end. There were a lot of favorite parts from the movie but the ones that stood out were: Michael and Esther scenes. To me, those scenes touched me in various levels especially when Esther tells him that she believes in him during his court trial period (Michael felt all parts of his life was tumbling down ie: he broke up with his gf and his scholarship was retracted) when no one else seem to believe that he didn't kill Henry (one of the Nursing home's residents). Esther was also instrumental in leading Faye back to Michael's side. The movie also tells of forgiveness and healing.

Well done to Hallmark for this excellent movie. This is a 'love' story which at the same time examines forgiveness, betrayal, jealousy and ultimately taking the opportunities in life when love comes along. The male lead gives a fine performance yet the real star is Vanessa Redgrave; this actress has such depth and radiance that she dominates the movie with her enormous charisma, charm and screen presence. Without doubt a super star.

At the start of the movie a man is caring for his dying mother. We later find out his father was a drunk who left them. After the mother dies, the man goes to work in an elegant nursing home and meets Esther, a bitter elderly woman played convincingly by Vanessa Redgrave. Both of them help each other resolve problems from their pasts. In Esther's case, a man named Thomas went to war without knowing how she felt about him. Both ended up marrying other spouses and the romance that could have been was not allowed to happen. The man sees Esther's and Thomas' pictures in a locket and tries to find Thomas. Meanwhile, the man ends up losing his girlfriend when she goes away to school, and her father wants him to stay away from her so she will complete her education. Esther also persuades the man to confront his father. The movie gets quite interesting after the man dates a co-worker who ends up causing trouble for him; she only works at the home because of family connections, and does not have the real concern for people her job would require. A pleasant family movie with some adult situations but no sex or bad language and only hints of and discussions about violence.