This story is as much about a young woman finding out about herself as it is a romance. Actually, probably more so. I think it does fairly well at examining Emma's struggle and showing how she deals with it.
One of the clichés is the young woman torn between two worlds. That part reminds me a little of all the "royal" movies that are so popular. The Englisher world is by no means royal, and most of us can understand many of the drawbacks, but Emma is faced with how different that world is from the one she has known. There are some thought provoking moments such as the grass-is-greener syndrome.
If there is a stereotype, one might conclude from the movie something about all Englisher men, and it's not good. Meanwhile, Amish men are gentlemen, right?
The movie is based loosely on a book by almost the same name Love Finds You in Charm, Ohio. There are no glaring differences that I can remember. One thing I like about both the movie and the book is that neither is judgmental about the Amish. I like that Emma and Kelly can really be friends. Also, like the book, the movie brings up trusting and following God, but I wouldn't say either is preachy.
I imply that the romance is not the central aspect of the movie. So I don't consider it negative when I say that the chemistry between Trevor Donovan and Danielle C. Ryan isn't overwhelming. There's some, but the movie didn't focus enough on just the two of them to make it much more than that.
The conclusion is a little rushed. It jumps from a conflict right into the expected outcome and then moves quickly into an epilogue.
I liked this movie because I watch a (very) lot of Hallmark and UpTV rom/drams and rom/coms and this was different enough to be refreshing.
Love Finds You in Charm
2015
Action / Drama
Love Finds You in Charm
2015
Action / Drama
Keywords: amish
Plot summary
Young Emma Miller (Danielle Chuchran) would appear to be lucky. This beautiful Amish girl has a loving family and the community's most eligible young man, Jacob (Kellen Boyle),wants to marry her. But she has more on her mind than buggies, bonnets and making her special goat cheese - Emma is secretly obsessed with Jane Austin's Pride and Prejudice and restlessly longs for adventure and travel. When given the opportunity to spend the season helping her widowed cousin Lydia (Meg Wittman) in scenic Charm, OH, Emma jumps at the chance. There she meets an Englischer, librarian Kelly Bennett (Tiffany Dupont),who has come to town to escape her chaotic life. Despite their differences, the two become fast friends. Settling into her cousin's farm, she finds Noah (Trevor Donovan) - a striking, well-read Amish young man who helps work the farm - intriguing, yet vexing. So when Emma's cheese attracts the attention of a local bed-and-breakfast and a handsome wine-and-cheese blog editor, Andy (Drew Fuller),she finds herself pulled between two worlds and two men. Emma must decide whether to stay amongst the Amish, or leave behind everyone and everything she's ever known to venture out into the world.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.BLU 1080p.BLUMovie Reviews
Not exactly like a Hallmark romance
The portrayal of the Amish is laughable
The movie is set in the modern era, initially in Shipshewana, Indiana and mostly in Charm, Ohio. Charm, located in Holmes County, Ohio, is at the center of one of the largest Amish settlements in North America.
The story follows a young Amish woman, Emma Miller (Danielle C. Ryan) who dreams of a freer life in the larger English world. She loves to read Jane Austen novels, and dreams of larger vistas when planes fly overhead. The film opens of her daydreaming about driving a car. Her boyfriend, Jacob (Kellen Boyle) is staid with no vision beyond his Amish community.
Emma's wise father decides she should visit her cousin, Lydia (Meg Wittman) in Charm, Ohio to help during the tourist season. Lydia is widowed with a young child. Lydia's late husband's cousin, Noah (Trevor Donovan),helps on the farm as he can. Noah is a "hunk" who has explored the English world and realizes the Amish life is the one he wants.
Emma is attracted to Noah but insists on some independence. She makes friends with a young English woman in the local library, Kelly (Tiffany Dupont),who has come to Charm to escape a relationship with an untrustworthy fiancée.
Emma's makes a spectacular goat cheese that catches the eye of a young smooth-talking New York food blogger, Andy (Drew Fuller),who comes on to Emma in a quite aggressive way.
Thus, the struggle that Emma needs to resolve-explore the English way or commit to the Amish life. One guess on how she decides.
The portrayal of the Amish is laughable. It is picture-perfect in the photography, but the characters are not real. Noah looks like he belongs on the cover of a romance novel and lowers his suspenders a few times to better show off his manly chest. His hair is not exactly an Amish "cut." The Amish woman always show too much hair, and Emma's dress is bit snug.
The Amish are an earthy people, and the way they talk is also earthy. The dialogue in this film sounds like came out of the Jane Austen novel. That was very distracting.
Sweet, delightful, refreshing
Does everything we see on the screen have to be glaringly and so called realistic. Maybe for some but not for me. I certainly don't mind a good dose of sweet, delightful and refreshing. Here is a young Amish girl, naive about the world outside of the confines of her community and longing to know what is on the outside. And there is a handsome young Amish fellow who loves her but is wise enough to allow her the room to make her own choices. This movie is well acted and thought provoking with a plausible story line. Okay, our Amish heroine does have plucked eyebrows and is lacking the Amish accent but can we overlook that for the sake of the message the movie is delivering? I think so. And I do love our heroine's purity--a rarity in today's world and nice to know that the innocence of her sort does exist.