As you undoubtedly remember, Silas Marner is a story about a cynical and angry hermit who has gold hidden away that gets stolen, but, as a twist of fate, he somehow gets a little girl to care for and raise in return. Martin, who wrote the excellent script, plays Silas as a more positive creature especially after he gets his little girl. Whereas the real Silas Marner story dwells on the gold, this one focuses more time on the interaction of Martin and the girl. Overall, the original Silas Marner is a morose story, but with happy parts. Martin's version is much more upbeat. Even the villains are not that awful.

This is a wonderful and realistic movie yet with a fairy tale feel to it at times. You can especially see this in the mystical and symbolic balloon episode.

The high points of the movie are the ingenuity of the script and Martin's acting. Mathilda McCann, the little girl, was played by Alana Austin (age 11), Alyssa Austin (age 5), Alaina Mobley (age 3), Callie Mobley (age 3), Victoria Evans (age 1 - 1-1/2), and Elizabeth Evans (age 1 - 1-1/2), and they were excellent. The rest of the characters, especially Catherine O'Hara as April Simon, were all good.

The major problem in the show was the miscasting and misdirecting of the villains. The rich bad guy was played by Gabriel Byrne and his evil brother by Stephen Baldwin. Byrne barely acted in his part - Zzzzz. Baldwin, who was a character you should have really hated, played him way too soft.