Practical Magic

I bought this film just to make up the numbers of a deal in Virgin or HMV. What a lovely chance to take. I now have a good candidate for a relaxing evening in with this. Starring the gorgeous Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock as the Owens sisters, Sally and Gillian, in a family of female witches this story is a gentle romantic fantasy. Back in the times of mass witch-hunting, one of their relatives was tried and convicted. She escaped the hangman's noose and banished herself to an island to await her lover and father of her unborn child. When he never came she laid a curse that foretells that any man who dares love an Owens woman will live briefly in the euphoria of her love before meeting an untimely end. The basic premise is a good old love story. Will love conquer the curse? Will both girls find romance, love and happiness? Will there be a happy ending?

Following their parents' deaths Sally and Gillian move in to live with their attractively eccentric aunts played by Stockard Channing and Diane Wiest where they learn about the curse and their Aunts money making habit of dabbling in other people's love lives. Stockard and Diane are wonderful as the eccentric aunts who teach their nieces magic. The two young girls eavesdrop on their aunts casting a spell to assist a neighbour in her quest for love and both react differently. Gillian's face lights up and she wants to fall in love as soon as she can, while Sally reacts quite differently. She conjures a spell for a perfect man who cannot exist, thus, she believes, ensuring she will never fall in love and so never suffer the consequences of the curse

Young Sally (played by Camille Belle) soon shows a great aptitude for magic, being able to ignite candles by blowing on them is rather fun to watch. Gilly-Bean, as she is affectionately nicknamed by her family bemoans her lack of magical skills and assured by the aunts that she has other talents. The two young girls chosen to play the younger versions are excellent, both looking very similar to their older counterparts and bring a freshness to the screen that is rare in child actors

As the girls grow up Gillian escapes the cloying familiarity and prejudices of the small community, leaving Sally home with her aunts to deal with the trials of living with people who harass, hound or ignore her because they believer her to be a witch. All she wants is to live a normal life. As time goes by both girl's fall in love; Sally with a pleasant man who appears very briefly, with only one line; his sole purpose in the movie seems to be to provide Sally with her dream of a normal family. Gillian acquires an exotic boyfriend in the shape of Goran Visnjic who is enchantingly brooding. One moment he is dark, charming and irresistible the next dark and scary. He does have moments of humour later in the film as the story plays out

Sadly for both girls things go awry. Sally's husband becomes a victim of the curse and the bad Jimmy Angelov becomes even badder, forcing the two girls to act. Dealing with the problem of Jimmy seems at first quite straightforward, but things soon become complicated as the forces of magic and mystery come in to play. Aidan Quinn is charmingly understated in his role as a police officer come to investigate the mysterious disappearance of Jimmy

All of the cast are excellent; the main characters are quite well known, but their roles in this are different form their usual ones, which is a joy to behold. Each one, even the bad Jimmy, shows sympathetic qualities that lighten this film and bring it its magical sparkle. The supporting cast are very well played as the local townsfolk pass from prejudicial harassment to understanding and closeness brought about by the crisis the two girls face

The scenery of the island where this is set is just stunningly filmed. The only criticism I might make is that everything is almost too perfect; the people are all beautifully dressed and live in wonderful homes; even the market looks a little sanitised. But this is a film so reality doesn't really need to intrude too much. The family house is a large white wooden building complete with magical style and a high turret style attic, and a perfect blend of elegance and homeliness - what I wouldn't give to live there!

This film has never made me cry; it is a gentle unfurling of sisterly love and romance. Beautifully filmed with beautiful people it is like a box of very expensive, indulgent chocolates.