For more than a century, Frances Hodgson
Burnett’s “The Secret Garden,” first published
in 1911, has endured. It remains one of
the great classics of children’s literature, a
book that deftly combines the dreams and
nightmares of childhood. Its balance of dark
and light, death and rebirth is still powerfully
moving in its rare harmony.
Mark Mundan’s adaptation, which STX Films
will release on-demand Friday, struggles to
burrow into the interiors of its characters. It’s
sluggish at times and too withdrawn for such
a vibrant tale. But it stays nevertheless in tune