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Light fingers is the term usually used to refer to thieves so Greenfinger is an apt title for a film about prison rehabilitation. In this movie, the thieves find a new outlet for felonious skills and a way to better themselves. The film is written and directed by Joel Hershman, best known for "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me."

Clive Owen (Croupier) stars as Colin, a prisoner with a personal secret so damaging to his psyche, he won't confide in anyone. Colin resides in Edgefield Prison along with other inmates guilty of sundry crimes. Warden Warren Clarke wants to do the right thing with the men and believes in rehabilitation with the provisional open prison system. Can this be done? The men, including the heavy-set Adam Fogerty, the ill David Kelly, the lovelorn Danny Dyer, and the homesick Paterson Joseph, are just marking time until they discover gardening, which is practically a national pastime in Britain. Before you can say, "toss those seeds," the guys are reading books on horticulture, experimenting with exotic flowers, meeting Britain's top gardener Georgina Woodhouse (Helen Mirren) and her daughter, Primrose (Natasha Little), AND planning on participating in the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, Britain's premiere event.

Greenfingers is based on a true story, but is homogenized and served to the public with white gloves on a silver platter. The plot has the men conveniently finding things they need. Tools? Oh, there just happens to be an abandoned shed out back. Books? Just happen to have some. In the wink of an eye, the transformation is made from prison to parlor as the men get to work outside the prison grounds. Clive Owen is so laid-back here, he's almost comatose. Granted, his character has had his share of emotional experiences, but he has a tendency to fade into the background. Helen Mirren steals her scenes as the diva of British television gardeners. If anyone could make a rock bloom, Georgina Woodhouse could. The cast of prisoners has someone for everyone to cheer for. There is Fogerty, the large lifer with a spot of tenderness, Joseph who longs for his family and son, Dyer who discovers love with a prison volunteer and Kelly who is terminally ill, yet has a tremendous will to survive. There are discussions among the men at mealtime about how they ended up in prison and the basic premise is: they acted without thinking things through first. Impulse action ruled them and now they pay the consequences. This group wants to change themselves around.

Yes, rehabilitation does work; no, it doesn't work for everyone. There are still people who will scheme nefarious deeds out of any situation. Don't get me wrong, there is still plenty of humor, especially when Primrose has to pick up the men and can't drive well, or when the men are trying to pace out a garden plot where arithmetic would really come in handy. Greenfingers is being called a comedy, but of the gentle sort that twines around you like a murmuring vine instead of blaring in your face. You can sit back and let the moss grow as you begin to appreciate greenery that, by itself, steals the film from the actors.

Copyright 2000 Marie Asner
Filmer456@aol.com
Submitted 9/30/2001