very_jammy_cow I deeply suspect that 'tfitoby' is missing the point of what I found to be an extraordinarily sensitive and subtle piece of social comment. The point is HOPE and the vehicle is COLOUR. From the social to the physical, Richard Laxton peppers his film with the symbolism of diversity and change. From the stark, colourless winter emerges the blooming promise of spring, (using mirrored panning shots at either end of the film: Katherine Mansfield's time-honoured narrative tools in celluloid). From inconspicuous attire, evolves the vibrant 'panache' of Hawaiian shirts. The dichotomy of confinement is also explored (a space normally connected with travel, trade and promise presents itself as a physical and mental incarceration, whilst the physically enclosed space of the allotments represents freedom, social and cultural responsibility and diversity - not to mention what the intrusive nature of the communications industry). These are not humorous issues, but I feel that genuine and warming comedy helps to highlight, implicitly and explicitly in this film, the myriad of social problems – and joys - we face today. I suggest very strongly that 'tfitoby' takes another look - perhaps he could watch it on one of the BBC's prime viewing slots, say, on a Sunday evening?

the_cult_of_clough This was a nice Little film, Nice is probably the crucial word because it did suffer from the British film comedy pitfall of using stock characters while tying everything up too "nicely" at the end. The Eddie Marsan / Olivia Coleman romance storyline must have seemed like well trodden paths through their allotted stories and they pulled off trademark, lovable loser, performances that I am sure would come across as heart-warming if we hadn't seen them many times before. And there were a few other comedy stalwarts playing within similar well ploughed furrows.That said, there was much to commend the film - the characters were familiar but you felt a warmth for all (of whom you were intended to) and the script although a little threadbare in places had some great moments too; the Grumpy old Rebel and the Chinese family were extremely well written and played. The cinematography was much better than some comments have implied too - there is one shot of darkened clouds over the allotments and a couple of other night-time views that were pretty impressive.Its a story about a set of allotments and the changing ethnic shape of working class society and as such it is well meaning and entertaining .. yes we have seen much of it before .. yes there have been better Brit films and if you want a hard-biting film about the state of British society or the evils of racism in Britain today, there is a lot better out there but....I sat in a showing (late admittedly) in a major British City, in that Cities main Cinema, on a Saturday night, on only the second night after the films release, i was the ONLY viewer!! I hope that is not an indication of the films fate because it deserves better than that

chrisanddelilah I saw Grow Your Own at a test screening and while it's not edgy indie fare, it was properly funny. The audience laughed loud and frequently, it was well crafted and overall I thought the film delivered. It felt to me like one of the better Ealing Comedies, focusing as it does on an insular community of allotment growers being forced to accommodate unexpected change from outsiders, in this case traumatised refugees. The cast included familiar comic types like Olivia Coleman and Omid Djalili (both excellent) and Benedict Wong (Sunshine) is riveting as an emotionally scared asylum seeker with a horrifying story to tell. Some story lines were better than others but where the film worked brilliantly was showing how loneliness, trauma and thoughtless behaviour are balanced by kind words and community spirit without resorting to sentimentalism or unrealistic plot twists. Really entertaining.

nevadascout I recently saw this movie and thought it was charming and funny. The comedy was subtle in places, laugh-out-loud in others, but always well-placed. I would disagree with the notion that some of the characters are superfluous or under- developed... I thought they were subtle, well-played and a great collection of people. I didn't find it hard to imagine them digging away somewhere on an allotment!I do agree with the comment about Benedict Wong, this was a great performance, I also really liked Eddie Marsan and Philip Jackson's characters. As for the name, I rather like "Grow Your Own" as a title!