Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Saving Grace Blu-ray Movie Review

Flower, pot.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III February 7, 2024

A casually likable small-town drama saddled with a bad Hallmark title, Nigel Cole's Saving Grace was an unexpected little hit back in 2000, earning back more than two and a half times its modest $10M budget. Starring celebrated actor Brenda Blethyn and future talk show host Craig Ferguson, it doesn't wring maximum interest out of its subject matter but instead settles for a lukewarm pace, making Saving Grace feel more like a made-for-TV production.

Saving Grace may indeed be labeled a comedy but in the British-est sense of the word, employing a dry approach that sees maybe about half of its gags actually hitting their intended target. Truth be told, the subject matter itself is more the root of its intermittent absurdity: taking place in a fishing town in Cornwall, it concerns the plight of recent widow Grace Trevethyn (Blethyn) after unexpected financial troubles arrive with her husband's tragic death. Simply put, Grace owes thousands of pounds per month in mortgage fees and, despite her standing as a master gardener, she couldn't begin to pay off that kind of debt. Her younger landscaper Matthew Stewart (Ferguson) soon hatches a plan: transform his small collection of cannabis plants into a massive crop, sell them at a huge profit, and split the money. Her careful techniques will get the job done in a matter of months, but they must lay low to avoid drawing attention... which is especially not needed after Matthew's girlfriend Nicky (Valerie Edmond) finds out she's pregnant.

Much of the fallout from this plan unfolds more or less as expected but is at least decorated with colorful small-town characters including Dr. Martin Bamford (Martin Clumes, who got ten seasons out of a similar character in the loose spin-off TV series Doc Martin), affable Reverend Gerald Percy (Leslie Phillips), and a pair of nosy shop owners (Phyllida Law and Linda Kerr), to name a few. They provide a bit of welcome seasoning to this otherwise by-the-numbers story, which begins to pick up steam after it comes time for Grace and Matthew to harvest and sell their forbidden crop. While there's a certain amount of entertainment value to the journey and its payoff, the production as a whole feels fairly scattershot in its execution and the flat, clichéd ending doesn't help matters either. It's not the kind of film that new viewers will write home about, although those who saw and enjoyed Saving Grace theatrically will find that it holds up well enough (if not a bit differently, due to the world's more liberal stance on marijuana these days).

All things considered, Saving Grace is a decent enough candidate for inclusion into the Warner Archive Collection: the film has languished in standard definition for more than two decades in the US but earned a pair of Region B-locked German Blu-rays awhile back, the most recent being a 2012 Special Edition from StudioCanal. So if nothing else, American fans will finally get a nice HD copy of Saving Grace to go with their "prescription" stash.

Saving Grace Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

There's a lot to like about Warner Archive's 1080p transfer of Saving Grace which, despite the existence of two foreign Blu-rays mentioned above, is advertised as being built from a new master. It's a clean and stable presentation of the source with no perceivable damage -- not surprising for this relatively young film, at least by WAC standards -- and, as usual, the encoding is top-notch and avoids a few compression-related issues that might normally be a problem in lesser hands. (Even the climactic "pot cloud" scene plays without a hitch, as seen in screenshot #20.)

Still, there's a nagging processed appearance to select scenes which, given the boutique label's unrivaled track record and the regular presence of film grain, are likely more an issue with the source material than any type of hasty filtering. Color timing and black levels also look suspect at times, from the now darker and more blue nighttime viewing party of Grace's electric fence (above) to a flatly cooler appearance for other exterior shots. Again, I'm not suggesting sneaky attempts at revisionism and it's mostly great overall, but this transfer doesn't have quite the "wow" factor as others in Warner Archive's library. It's still likely a clear upgrade from those older DVD releases, though sadly I don't have either Region B Blu-ray for comparison. I'll still award Saving Grace's new transfer a 4/5 for its obvious strengths; given the occasional limitations of a half-point rating system, however, it's probably closer to a 3.75/5.

Saving Grace Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The audio is perhaps more impressive overall despite my same 4/5 rating, if only because there aren't any noticeable drawbacks in what seems like a very clean and crisp presentation of its modest surround mix. Truth be told there isn't much rear channel activity aside from location-based echoes and a few weather-related events, with most of this front-forward soundstage showing good separation with plenty of room for its decidedly era-specific soundtrack featuring songs from The Pretenders, Robert Palmer, A.F.T., Sherena Dugani, Filter, and more. Obviously only the non-diegetic cuts enjoy a strong presence but they come through great and punctuate several scenes, while other fundamentals such as dialogue and background effects are mixed well with no obvious signs of damage or sync issues.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the main feature only, not the extras listed below.

Saving Grace Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with familiar poster-themed cover artwork and several bonus features first included on New Line's 2000 "snapper case" DVD. The limited extras produced for Studio Canal's previously-mentioned Region B-locked 2012 Special Edition Blu-ray have unsurprisingly not been carried over.

• Audio Commentary #1 - Co-writers Craig Ferguson and Mark Crowdy, along with director Nigel Cole, begin with the first of two commentary tracks and all three participants seem in good spirits; Ferguson is obviously recorded separately, but this doesn't distract all the much from the track's overall flow. It's as dry as the film itself during several stretches but likewise decently enjoyable enough on the whole, with all three participants waxing short-term nostalgic about the writing process, casting, stories from the set, and much more.

• Audio Commentary #2 - Another group track (this one legitimately recorded as one), director Nigel Cole returns with actors Brenda Blethyn and Craig Ferguson for what most will find to be the more enjoyable listen. While two of the three participants remain the same, the more approachable subject matter -- not to mention Blethyn's warmer personality -- yields better results as the trio chat about Saving Grace's development, the production, and even its theatrical release, which varied quite a bit on oppostie sides of the pond.

• Theatrical Trailer (1:35) - This amusing vintage promotional piece can also be seen here.

Saving Grace Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Nigel Cole's Saving Grace did well for itself back in 2000 yet still remains more of a cult classic outside its native UK. I found about half of it funny and several parts much less so, but it earns another point or two for its colorful supporting characters and the largely likeable lead performances by Brenda Blethyn and co-writer Craig Ferguson. Fans of both, as well as of course the loose spin-off Doc Martin, will want to add Warner Archive's new Blu-ray to their collection, which offers a solid A/V presentation and several DVD-era bonus features including two commentaries.