Saving Grace (2000)

Director:

Nigel Cole

Writers:

Mark Crowdy (story)
Craig Ferguson (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

1 September 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime

Tagline:

Grace's doctor is worried about the state of her joints...

Plot:

A small-town English widow, facing financial troubles after her husband's suicide, turns to agriculture of an illegal kind.

Plot Keywords:

Plant | Debt | Marijuana | Greenhouse | Small Town

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 3 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Brenda Blethyn	...	Grace Trevethyn
Craig Ferguson	...	Matthew Stewart
Martin Clunes	...	Dr. Martin Bamford
Tchéky Karyo	...	Jacques Chevalier (as Tcheky Karyo)
Jamie Foreman	...	China MacFarlane
Bill Bailey	...	Vince
Valerie Edmond	...	Nicky
Tristan Sturrock	...	Harvey
Clive Merrison	...	Quentin Rhodes
Leslie Phillips	...	Rev. Gerald Percy
Diana Quick	...	Honey Chambers
Phyllida Law	...	Margaret Sutton
Linda Kerr Scott	...	Diana Skinner
Denise Coffey	...	Mrs. Hopkins
Paul Brooke	...	Charlie

Also Known As:

Saving Grace (Australia) (Ireland: English title) (UK)

MPAA:

Rated R for drug content and language.

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | French

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Australia:MA | Iceland:12 | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Norway:11 | Ireland:15 (DVD rating) | Argentina:13 | Brazil:14 | Canada:PG | Finland:K-15 | France:U | Germany:6 (w) | Netherlands:AL | New Zealand:M | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Boscastle, Cornwall, England, UK

Company:

Portman Entertainment Group

Trivia:

Some of the marijuana plants used in the shooting were real. The British government gave permission to the filming crew the use of 150 marijuana plants, under supervision of the authorities. This meant that the plants had someone guarding them on the set, and watching over its transportation to a nearby storage facility for its safekeeping at night.

Goofs:

Continuity: The level of Grace's wine when she's talking to her late husband's lover. It goes from half to almost full as the camera switches from a side to a behind view. Also, when the wine is poured, the bottle is not tipped up long enough and it doesn't make a long enough pouring sound to put that much wine in the glass.

Quotes:

Charlie: I'm glad to see she's keeping up the village tradition of total contempt for the law.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Grandma's Boy (2006)

Soundtrack:

Make Me Smile

Drug trafficking, the elegant way.

What is so startling to me is the number of comments here. How come, 93! The film has utterly fallen into obscurity in town. I just by chance popped by a VCD shop, which is on sale, and so fortunately to have picked up this hilarious movie (73pence or US$1.29 ^_^).

The film title is just funny enough to make you associate the story with it.

Grace, played by the versatile actress Brenda Blethyn, was in financial trouble. And this small and elegant English village lady cannot but save herself by a not-so-elegant trade through the help of her own gardener and her late husband's unseen mistress in London.

I especially like the daredevil scene when Grace is fully dressed up touting her masterpiece cannabis (cultured in her own green house) to the undesirable figures in sleazy areas in London. Her act is comical, prudent and daring at the same time. I find it hard to imagine a well-dressed and French speaking Chinese grandma would approach me touting home-made grass so reeklessly in Wanchai or Mongkok.

English humour or European subtlety can never be reproduced by Hollywood, the air, the smell, everything belongs to the Brits and Europeans. Lovely small production with bold attempt.