There was so much to praise in "Daffodils" - most of the music (oh, the nostalgia!), the production values and period detail, the costuming, the acting; all were impressive. But the crucial scene of confrontation, even if it was one of the scenes that were true to real events, in film terms just did not work, and so the rest of the film fell quite flat. To have the man just stand there, dumb as a stunned mullet, while his "film self" warbled eloquently that he "didn't have the words"? Yeah....nah. Such a pity.
16 Reviews
Parts of brilliance, parts disappointing
sophie-8635422 March 2019
A very unusual combination of things in this film.
It really was a film of two halfs. The first part of the film set in the 1960s was charming and beautiful with two engaging characters and songs. Rose McIver shines even if her character could be frustrating at times.
In its second half the film doesn't work well and there were some horrible music choices and the singing by the lead male character was not up to par. Also I found Kimbra's voice pretty average right through.
Great to see Kiwi landscape and songs on screen but there were some songs which didn't work or were just kind of horrible and some great Kiwi songs were missed out (Be mine tonight or why does love do this to me would have been great additions).
It's worthwhile seeing for the first half of the movie which has moments of pure charm and brilliance, just wish some of the second half had been better executed.
It really was a film of two halfs. The first part of the film set in the 1960s was charming and beautiful with two engaging characters and songs. Rose McIver shines even if her character could be frustrating at times.
In its second half the film doesn't work well and there were some horrible music choices and the singing by the lead male character was not up to par. Also I found Kimbra's voice pretty average right through.
Great to see Kiwi landscape and songs on screen but there were some songs which didn't work or were just kind of horrible and some great Kiwi songs were missed out (Be mine tonight or why does love do this to me would have been great additions).
It's worthwhile seeing for the first half of the movie which has moments of pure charm and brilliance, just wish some of the second half had been better executed.
NZ film
jwftoestand26 March 2019
Still frustrating me weeks later
kyliefm17 April 2019
Could be a solid "6" (spoilers on 3rd paragraph)
geostoios12 January 2020
Warning: Spoilers
IF it didnt have a plot blunder towards the end. I guess they wanted to provide a twist to the movie, and they did, but it ended exactly the oppsite way. The particular scene throws the viewer completely out of the movie and what was supposed to be the climax was actually disappointing, a big let down.
Could be a solid 6 maaaybe 6,5 (if there was an option) but no, the ending part messes an otherwise "ok" movie. I fail to follow the thinking of whoever is responsible for that scene, i am surprised it made it to the final cut.
Spoilers: For those wondering if its worth it, short answer is "No", keep on reading for the explanation. The movie is a typical boy meets girl, blah blah, they grow up blah blah, they make a family, blah blah, then the father of the boy dies at the appartment of his affair. Thats something boy has to keep a secret from his mother (although his mother already knows that her husband was unfaithful). Boy's wife smells the perfume (of dad's affair) and thinks that he cheats on her, she also sees them together in dad's funeral where the dad's affair went to give his watch to the boy (how bad plot is that, i'll let you decide, worse is coming).
Tension between boy-girl builds up until girl decides to split, the supposed climax is a few minutes of girl accusing boy and boys says nothing. No, really, thats it, they were a beautiful family but boy says nothing about being innocent and they end up in separate ways, for - practically - no - reason. Major dissapointment, i'd prefer them splitting over wrong babys milk temperature rather than that. There you have it, i hope i'll save someones time.
Could be a solid 6 maaaybe 6,5 (if there was an option) but no, the ending part messes an otherwise "ok" movie. I fail to follow the thinking of whoever is responsible for that scene, i am surprised it made it to the final cut.
Spoilers: For those wondering if its worth it, short answer is "No", keep on reading for the explanation. The movie is a typical boy meets girl, blah blah, they grow up blah blah, they make a family, blah blah, then the father of the boy dies at the appartment of his affair. Thats something boy has to keep a secret from his mother (although his mother already knows that her husband was unfaithful). Boy's wife smells the perfume (of dad's affair) and thinks that he cheats on her, she also sees them together in dad's funeral where the dad's affair went to give his watch to the boy (how bad plot is that, i'll let you decide, worse is coming).
Tension between boy-girl builds up until girl decides to split, the supposed climax is a few minutes of girl accusing boy and boys says nothing. No, really, thats it, they were a beautiful family but boy says nothing about being innocent and they end up in separate ways, for - practically - no - reason. Major dissapointment, i'd prefer them splitting over wrong babys milk temperature rather than that. There you have it, i hope i'll save someones time.
Will remember this one
faroutsea13 April 2020
Doesn't sell it's central tragedy
aaronclawrence18 April 2020
Warning: Spoilers
While the movie starts as a cute romantic musical with nostalgic kiwi songs, it then veers into an unearned tragic twist. The characters weren't developed enough beyond 'cute working class guy meets cute country girl' to sell the total failure to communicate that causes it all.
I can kind of imagine that someone might be so twisted up by shame that they couldn't say anything, but not this character. It came across as ridiculous that he couldn't reveal a relatively minor secret (well in the past by the climax) to save his marriage.
There's also a fairly ambiguous section where the guy acts like a student lad playing in a band, ignoring his wife, which obviously upsets her, but why does he do this? How are they living if he is not working? Why doesn't she complain? This is where being a musical actually becomes a problem, a few lines from a song jammed in doesn't really tell you what the characters are feeling in enough detail.
I can kind of imagine that someone might be so twisted up by shame that they couldn't say anything, but not this character. It came across as ridiculous that he couldn't reveal a relatively minor secret (well in the past by the climax) to save his marriage.
There's also a fairly ambiguous section where the guy acts like a student lad playing in a band, ignoring his wife, which obviously upsets her, but why does he do this? How are they living if he is not working? Why doesn't she complain? This is where being a musical actually becomes a problem, a few lines from a song jammed in doesn't really tell you what the characters are feeling in enough detail.
Bittersweet
adekinder29 February 2020
Warning: Spoilers
A brilliant film of Kiwiana.
It tells the story of two people and their relationship which ultimately meets its bittersweet end. The story is very moving and heartbreaking and personally, while I feel so frustrated by the ending, it was well played off. The relationship fractures due to two people unwilling to communicate.
The movie incorporates the soundtrack and musical element in a fun and creative way. I liked how it didn't play as a straight musical and we got scenes punctuated by certain songs while flashing back to the main character's actions. It was beautifully filmed and well-acted, taking us through the landscape of a changing New Zealand and its different era. I enjoyed the costumes, music choices and the filming.
A lot of people feel the movie falls apart in the third half. This is due to the frustration in their miscommunication and perhaps, Eric not making it clear what the truth was. However, there was plenty of opportunities where both characters made choices to hide secrets and create the friction in their relationship. At the beginning of the movie, we see the main female character Rose be cold to Eric on their first date because he was approached. This starts the expectation that Rose is easily suspicious and jealous towards other females and has a lack of trust in anyone. This is again repeated during the first dance scene where Eric dances with someone else - she almost leaves him completely due to her assumption that he will be interested in others. She never communicates her insecurity or mistrust toward her partner. Before Eric leaves, Rose finds Eric's father having an affair with someone else. Does she say this to Eric? No. Eric never discusses this with her and throughout the whole movie, tries to keep his father away from his wife. Eric is ashamed by his father and his inability to hide his affairs. He doesn't want to share this secret with his wife and already is aware of the judgment from Rose's parents.
The turn and crumbling of the marriage is perfectly captured by Crowded Houses " Fall at your feet". This entire scene made me cry. Eric discovering his dead father in the bathroom of another woman. The woman begging for him to go. Him carrying his father. All of it was harsh and bitter. You felt the weight of it. He comes home and seeks comfort in his wife who smells the perfume. She automatically assumes he has been with another woman - but why? she has no reason to except her previous suspicious nature followed by her spotting of Eric's father. She expects him to be unfaithful because she feels he is her father. Her shunning of him makes it harder on Eric to be honest. It was already a burden. Neither communicate their distrust and let their distance wedge between them. As you see Rose grow colder, she never speaks - she keeps assuming he has been unfaithful throughout everything. When confronted, the song "Language" illustrates perfectly them speaking different tongues. Eric's embarrassment for his father shame and the sinking weight that his own wife thinks he is no different. This scene is heartbreaking and you scream with frustration that they couldn't just work it out. But the truth is neither were willing to take that steps. Rose stewed in her own suspicions, Eric lived with his shame.
All in all, it's very heartbreaking and well-told that nothing is clear-cut. That the unwillingness to let go of your own doubts stops your path. That your sacrifice can be unheard. It was a painful ending to a really great story about love.
It tells the story of two people and their relationship which ultimately meets its bittersweet end. The story is very moving and heartbreaking and personally, while I feel so frustrated by the ending, it was well played off. The relationship fractures due to two people unwilling to communicate.
The movie incorporates the soundtrack and musical element in a fun and creative way. I liked how it didn't play as a straight musical and we got scenes punctuated by certain songs while flashing back to the main character's actions. It was beautifully filmed and well-acted, taking us through the landscape of a changing New Zealand and its different era. I enjoyed the costumes, music choices and the filming.
A lot of people feel the movie falls apart in the third half. This is due to the frustration in their miscommunication and perhaps, Eric not making it clear what the truth was. However, there was plenty of opportunities where both characters made choices to hide secrets and create the friction in their relationship. At the beginning of the movie, we see the main female character Rose be cold to Eric on their first date because he was approached. This starts the expectation that Rose is easily suspicious and jealous towards other females and has a lack of trust in anyone. This is again repeated during the first dance scene where Eric dances with someone else - she almost leaves him completely due to her assumption that he will be interested in others. She never communicates her insecurity or mistrust toward her partner. Before Eric leaves, Rose finds Eric's father having an affair with someone else. Does she say this to Eric? No. Eric never discusses this with her and throughout the whole movie, tries to keep his father away from his wife. Eric is ashamed by his father and his inability to hide his affairs. He doesn't want to share this secret with his wife and already is aware of the judgment from Rose's parents.
The turn and crumbling of the marriage is perfectly captured by Crowded Houses " Fall at your feet". This entire scene made me cry. Eric discovering his dead father in the bathroom of another woman. The woman begging for him to go. Him carrying his father. All of it was harsh and bitter. You felt the weight of it. He comes home and seeks comfort in his wife who smells the perfume. She automatically assumes he has been with another woman - but why? she has no reason to except her previous suspicious nature followed by her spotting of Eric's father. She expects him to be unfaithful because she feels he is her father. Her shunning of him makes it harder on Eric to be honest. It was already a burden. Neither communicate their distrust and let their distance wedge between them. As you see Rose grow colder, she never speaks - she keeps assuming he has been unfaithful throughout everything. When confronted, the song "Language" illustrates perfectly them speaking different tongues. Eric's embarrassment for his father shame and the sinking weight that his own wife thinks he is no different. This scene is heartbreaking and you scream with frustration that they couldn't just work it out. But the truth is neither were willing to take that steps. Rose stewed in her own suspicions, Eric lived with his shame.
All in all, it's very heartbreaking and well-told that nothing is clear-cut. That the unwillingness to let go of your own doubts stops your path. That your sacrifice can be unheard. It was a painful ending to a really great story about love.
Definitely go see Daffodils!
lillianpak1 April 2019
I highly recommend Daffodils. It was a great movie - an insightful slice of life and exploration of human nature. Very few movies have me emotionally engaged and this was definitely one of them. My heart went out to the two main characters, played by NZ actors Rose McIver and George Mason. I found myself laughing and crying with them.... wanting to reach out to them. Throughout the movie, I kept trying to will them to make different choices, and to talk to each other - to make things right.
I loved the NZ music! The Director, David Stubbs, integrated the singing into the dialogue seamlessly, and in a way that wasn't cheesy!
The ending wasn't what I had hoped for the 2 main characters; but, that's how bittersweet life can be.
I loved the NZ music! The Director, David Stubbs, integrated the singing into the dialogue seamlessly, and in a way that wasn't cheesy!
The ending wasn't what I had hoped for the 2 main characters; but, that's how bittersweet life can be.
Very enjoyable
xxanotherstarxx20 April 2019
I really enjoyed this film, and living in Hamilton (where it's set) was very nostalgic. I absolutely love Rose McIver and she did a fantastic job. But the ending was a bit frustrating. But the sign of a good film is if it makes you feel something and I felt for these characters.
Great Movie
enochgilbert25 March 2019
Daffodils was film that showed many types of love and hate in Eric's (George Mason) relationships. The film's Moral/Value is that we should have the courage to communicate and free our minds of such burdens. I did find that the movie was fast-paced, but it did succeed to tell the story wholesomely. The music was fantastic as promised and I did see myself as an extra (which was cool😎), but I must be in the deleted scenes as well. Daffodils was directed in a unique way and I am proud to be part of this film, so overall I'm giving it a 4.5\5
Beautiful song
karensoanes19 April 2019
Great film let down by the ending.
frank-brennan-117 November 2019
Warning: Spoilers
I enjoyed this film quite a lot. The music, the period details, the nostalgia and the 2 main leads and music are all excellent. However the main scene near the end when the wife is about to leave with the kids because she thinks he did something that he didn't, and he just stands there and says nothing, just didn't make sense to me. It made me so exasperated enough to shout at the screen and left me feeling cold and flat. Think the director was trying to give the film a La La Land-like ending but it didn't work. Worth a watch all the same!
Great, but fastpaced
enochgilbert21 March 2019
Daffodils was a film that showed many emotions and it'll make people think of themselves or others who did not have courage to communicate. The film was fast-paced which was alright I suppose, except that you couldn't experience the whole eras thing in the movie.
So good!
benjaminweinman-6118013 June 2019
Good Movie, great soundtrack, Weak finish
leno-7601617 April 2021
Loved the movie. However, Eric's character sold the viewers on how mucn he loved Rose, so it is very inconcievable that he would withhold the one piece of information which would have saved the marriage and the family. All movies do not have to have happy endings, but the ending must be believable. This ending was not!
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
