Already having created a huge stir in Berlin Film Festival this year, director Damian Harris's film 'Gardens of The Night' arrived at Raindance with not much fanfare. However, at least for this reviewer, it turned out to be one of the more honest and interesting experiences in the cinema this year.
 
  'Gardens Of The Night' focuses on 8 year old Leslie who is abducted from her home by Alex (played magnificently by Tom Arnold who here is exercising his own demons) and Frank (Kevin Zegers). She is convinced by Alex that her parents no longer want her and through a number of encounters is made to rely more and more on Alex. In the house is also 9 year old Donnie who also seems to be a victim. Slowly Leslie and Donnie establish a friendship which will be the only one they have once they are abandoned by their captors.

  Although not an easy film to watch, 'Gardens Of The Night' is neither expolitation nor dry, matter-of-fact teledrama. Damian Harris conducts a very sharp passage through the world of child abduction, child molestation and the subsequent results for the children involved and because of this the film manages to feel incredibly sharp and honest at all times.

  The first half, dedicated to the abduction and breaking down of Leslie, is thorougly horrific to watch at times: everything is presented very plainly and honestly without ever resorting to cheap tactics. There are no swelling violins HBO Movie Of The Week style here, just good storytelling augmented by astute and exciting acting.

  Tom Arnold is possibly the finest actor in the whole film: his portrayal of Alex is complex and disturbing in equal measure: a character to match Brian Cox's Big John Harrigan in Micheal Cuesta's L.I.E. If Kevin Zeggers Frank feels more generic, it is not because the character is underwritten but because Tom Arnold does such a spectacular job that everything else looks faded next to his performance. (with the exception being the child actors who pull through a very hard part with immense skill and grace)

  If there are any problems with the film, it is the second half: detailing Leslie and Damian's later years where it starts to feel more and more like one of those 80's films about run-away kids. However this does not affect the movie as a whole because Harris keeps injecting the film with a brutal honesty at regular intervals. Events that mirror each other occur to show us the damage that these kids have received, brief glimpses into their psyche offer us perhaps no new insights but a better understanding of what we already know.

  Although it will never be to everyone's tastes, 'Gardens Of The Night' is an important film that deserves to reach as wide an audience as possible.