This Hallmark movie was just okay. I really liked the premise, with the fantasy element of the character of William seeing his future love Lily in his dreams, then painting her portrait and then having that portrait end up mysteriously in the same art gallery where Lily worked. This fantasy storyline is an extremely romantic one. The movie could have taken much better advantage of the inherent romance in this story than it did.
I did like Aubrey Reynold's performance as Lily. She was cute, sweet and very likable. Her performance was much better than that of Richard McWilliams as William. His performance was wooden and lacked the necessary passion to make the romance between the two really compelling. The performance Kathryn McKieran as his sister Saorise was much better. She was lively and had a sparkle that he lacked. I did like the fact that they filmed most of the movie on location in Ireland, and the scenery was certainly spectacular. I also liked that they got real Irish actors to play the roles of the Irish people, though, as said, Richard McWilliams was just so so in his role. Maybe he was the best Irish actor they could come up with, given their limited budget.
The mystery of the identity of J. O'Brien, the sender of the painting, was somewhat engaging, and kept you drawn in for most of the story. The big reveal of who it was sort of fell flat, though. It needed to be something bigger and more compelling. I also didn't like that artist who painted the painting of Lily was revealed so early in the story to be William. Having that also be a mystery might have made for a better story. The story dragged a bit in the middle, with Lily and William galavanting around the Irish countryside but not really connecting too much with each other romantically.
I found the reasons for her rejecting him toward the end to be pretty flimsy also. This seemingly relationship-ending conflict is a staple of romance movies, but it didn't seem very believable in this case. Of course, him making the grand gesture of flying across the ocean to win her back was good. I think it should've taken place back in Ireland, though. Finally, the character of Lily's matchmaking boss was over-the-top annoying. I really could've done without her character, or had her be a bit more subtle.
All in all, this was an okay Hallmark romance. Certainly not the worst I've seen, but hardly the best. I guess I'm mostly disappointed because the movie could've been so much better with a more compelling script, better acting (at least on the part of Richard McWilliams), more chemistry between the two leads and less telegraphing of the surprises in the movie. The premise, as I said, was ripe for a really engaging, romantic story, but the execution was, sadly, subpar.
I did like Aubrey Reynold's performance as Lily. She was cute, sweet and very likable. Her performance was much better than that of Richard McWilliams as William. His performance was wooden and lacked the necessary passion to make the romance between the two really compelling. The performance Kathryn McKieran as his sister Saorise was much better. She was lively and had a sparkle that he lacked. I did like the fact that they filmed most of the movie on location in Ireland, and the scenery was certainly spectacular. I also liked that they got real Irish actors to play the roles of the Irish people, though, as said, Richard McWilliams was just so so in his role. Maybe he was the best Irish actor they could come up with, given their limited budget.
The mystery of the identity of J. O'Brien, the sender of the painting, was somewhat engaging, and kept you drawn in for most of the story. The big reveal of who it was sort of fell flat, though. It needed to be something bigger and more compelling. I also didn't like that artist who painted the painting of Lily was revealed so early in the story to be William. Having that also be a mystery might have made for a better story. The story dragged a bit in the middle, with Lily and William galavanting around the Irish countryside but not really connecting too much with each other romantically.
I found the reasons for her rejecting him toward the end to be pretty flimsy also. This seemingly relationship-ending conflict is a staple of romance movies, but it didn't seem very believable in this case. Of course, him making the grand gesture of flying across the ocean to win her back was good. I think it should've taken place back in Ireland, though. Finally, the character of Lily's matchmaking boss was over-the-top annoying. I really could've done without her character, or had her be a bit more subtle.
All in all, this was an okay Hallmark romance. Certainly not the worst I've seen, but hardly the best. I guess I'm mostly disappointed because the movie could've been so much better with a more compelling script, better acting (at least on the part of Richard McWilliams), more chemistry between the two leads and less telegraphing of the surprises in the movie. The premise, as I said, was ripe for a really engaging, romantic story, but the execution was, sadly, subpar.