There's a surprising stream of beautiful literary references in The Presence of Love which, for me, ranks in the top tier of Hallmark's movies (I'd give it a 7 or 8 compared to other movies but I grade Hallmark on a curve). Given all the high brow literary references, and with it addressing issues like high anxiety and dyslexia (which it does with compassion and grace), I worried that it might not resonate with the "feed me a steady diet of comforting sugary treats" Hallmark crowd (I'm in that crowd). But it currently holds a 7.2 rating on IMDb, which is higher than most Hallmark movies.
Eloise Mumford is beautiful, talented, and convincing playing the fragile and vulnerable Joss. You just want to give her a hug and softly sing her the Bob Marley Three Little Birds song ("Don't worry about a thing, 'cause every little thing gonna be all right"). Julian Morris is pleasant as Daniel, but I really liked Amy Sharp who plays his young daughter Tegan. Samantha Bond was also good as the inexplicably cranky and unpleasant grandmother. Great writing by Nicole Baxter. Well directed by MacLaine Nelson.
The movie opens with lines from William Wordsworth's The Solitary Reaper, which celebrates the beauty of a song even when you can't understand the lyrics. I love bossa nova Brazilian music, and some French and Spanish music, and there are plenty of enjoyable songs in "English" that I can't make out or understand (hence my use of subtitles when watching movies, like this one, with heavy accents). From The Solitary Reaper:
"Whate'er the theme, the Maiden sang As if her song could have no ending; I saw her singing at her work, And o'er the sickle bending;- I listened, motionless and still; And, as I mounted up the hill, The music in my heart I bore, Long after it was heard no more."
The name of the movie, Presence of Love, is from an old poem of the same name by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (a good friend of Wordsworth).
"And in Life's noisiest hour, There whispers still the ceaseless Love of Thee, The heart's Self-solace and soliloquy.
You mould my Hopes, you fashion me within; And to the leading Love-throb in the Heart Thro' all my Being, thro' my pulse's beat; You lie in all my many Thoughts, like Light, Like the fair light of Dawn, or summer Eve On rippling Stream, or cloud-reflecting Lake.
And looking to the Heaven, that bends above you, How oft! I bless the Lot that made me love you."
Joss often quotes the 2 poets featured in the movie and lovingly tells Daniel: "You lie in all my many Thoughts". Joss also recites the line "Nature never did betray the heart that loved her" from another poem by Wordsworth called Tintern Abbey.
If you've seen the romantic series Poldark (quite good- basically Outlander without the magic), which was set in the decades following the American Revolutionary War, back when Wordsworth and Coleridge were writing their poems, you'll recognize the windswept cliffs of Cornwall. These magnificent sprawling cliffs, and the crashing waves and rocks below, essentially become a character ("Nature") and metaphor in both this movie and Poldark. And I love that Hallmark spent a few extra bucks to film this in Cornwall and not in front of a green screen in Vancouver. I really appreciate when their movies are at least partly filmed where they are set.
I also totally agree with the "Lovely" and "What a Refreshing Change!!" reviews about breaking the basic Hallmark molds (I have a love/hate approach-mostly love- when it comes to Hallmark movies and their overused tropes). Even the Presence of Love poster looks different. Bravo!
I didn't notice all the different coats, but here are the little things that annoyed me: 1) The grandmother's initial rudeness to Joss and Daniel (what exactly is HER plan to save the place?); 2) the complete uselessness of Joss' "help" building the stone wall (it's really worth watching again just to focus on that "help"); 3) Joss not having another beer at the Ship Inn with a fun foursome (I know she has that "paper" but Jeez, take a break, it's not like you're being productive) 4) Joss, in the book seller's nook, misattributing a good quote to Oscar Wilde (who has plenty of good quotes without giving him credit for things he never said): "What you read when you don't have to, determines what you will be when you can't help it." This clever quote was actually said by a Unitarian minister (Charles Francis Potter) back in 1927. The Quote Investigator is a useful resource to fact check quote attributions.
Eloise Mumford is beautiful, talented, and convincing playing the fragile and vulnerable Joss. You just want to give her a hug and softly sing her the Bob Marley Three Little Birds song ("Don't worry about a thing, 'cause every little thing gonna be all right"). Julian Morris is pleasant as Daniel, but I really liked Amy Sharp who plays his young daughter Tegan. Samantha Bond was also good as the inexplicably cranky and unpleasant grandmother. Great writing by Nicole Baxter. Well directed by MacLaine Nelson.
The movie opens with lines from William Wordsworth's The Solitary Reaper, which celebrates the beauty of a song even when you can't understand the lyrics. I love bossa nova Brazilian music, and some French and Spanish music, and there are plenty of enjoyable songs in "English" that I can't make out or understand (hence my use of subtitles when watching movies, like this one, with heavy accents). From The Solitary Reaper:
"Whate'er the theme, the Maiden sang As if her song could have no ending; I saw her singing at her work, And o'er the sickle bending;- I listened, motionless and still; And, as I mounted up the hill, The music in my heart I bore, Long after it was heard no more."
The name of the movie, Presence of Love, is from an old poem of the same name by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (a good friend of Wordsworth).
"And in Life's noisiest hour, There whispers still the ceaseless Love of Thee, The heart's Self-solace and soliloquy.
You mould my Hopes, you fashion me within; And to the leading Love-throb in the Heart Thro' all my Being, thro' my pulse's beat; You lie in all my many Thoughts, like Light, Like the fair light of Dawn, or summer Eve On rippling Stream, or cloud-reflecting Lake.
And looking to the Heaven, that bends above you, How oft! I bless the Lot that made me love you."
Joss often quotes the 2 poets featured in the movie and lovingly tells Daniel: "You lie in all my many Thoughts". Joss also recites the line "Nature never did betray the heart that loved her" from another poem by Wordsworth called Tintern Abbey.
If you've seen the romantic series Poldark (quite good- basically Outlander without the magic), which was set in the decades following the American Revolutionary War, back when Wordsworth and Coleridge were writing their poems, you'll recognize the windswept cliffs of Cornwall. These magnificent sprawling cliffs, and the crashing waves and rocks below, essentially become a character ("Nature") and metaphor in both this movie and Poldark. And I love that Hallmark spent a few extra bucks to film this in Cornwall and not in front of a green screen in Vancouver. I really appreciate when their movies are at least partly filmed where they are set.
I also totally agree with the "Lovely" and "What a Refreshing Change!!" reviews about breaking the basic Hallmark molds (I have a love/hate approach-mostly love- when it comes to Hallmark movies and their overused tropes). Even the Presence of Love poster looks different. Bravo!
I didn't notice all the different coats, but here are the little things that annoyed me: 1) The grandmother's initial rudeness to Joss and Daniel (what exactly is HER plan to save the place?); 2) the complete uselessness of Joss' "help" building the stone wall (it's really worth watching again just to focus on that "help"); 3) Joss not having another beer at the Ship Inn with a fun foursome (I know she has that "paper" but Jeez, take a break, it's not like you're being productive) 4) Joss, in the book seller's nook, misattributing a good quote to Oscar Wilde (who has plenty of good quotes without giving him credit for things he never said): "What you read when you don't have to, determines what you will be when you can't help it." This clever quote was actually said by a Unitarian minister (Charles Francis Potter) back in 1927. The Quote Investigator is a useful resource to fact check quote attributions.