Dare to Be Wild

Mary Reynolds grew up on the edges of Ireland’s wild spaces and prizes the beauty of nature in its simplest forms.  Despite the lack of connections and the loss of her design book, Mary is determined to win the renowned Chelsea Flower Show’s garden design competition.  But it’s an uphill battle for money and man-power, and Mary will have to work to persuade Chelsea, herself, her colleagues, the stubborn contractor Christy Collard – and even the plants – to give her a chance to bloom.  (That’s right, I went there.)

Dare to Be Wild is the story of Mary Reynolds’ journey to the Chelsea Flower Show in 2002.  While the real Mary Reynolds admits that the filmmakers took some artistic liberties, she feels that the movie gets all the important parts right and is very happy with the result, which is an issue-oriented, plot-driven feature with a strong sense of place.  Unfortunately, the characters are all rather two-dimensional, their inner lives and hidden motivations sacrificed to the narrative, so that when they change their minds, it’s an abrupt and surprising change that had to happen to keep the plot on track.  Further, there are times when the power of a moment doesn’t come across to the audience, and this can make the scene a little bit ridiculous.  Fortunately, Mary’s vision of humans working with the natural world, instead of conquering it, and her efforts to show this vision to others, go a long way toward counterbalancing the film’s shortcomings.  If you can look past the movie’s flaws to see Mary’s ideals, Dare to Be Wild is likely to be a feel-good and potentially inspiring choice.