‘The Secret Of Moonacre’ cannot end soon enough

'The Secret Of Moonacre' is a gloomy tale of thwarted love, adapted from the children’s classic ‘The Little White Horse’ by Elizabeth Goudge.

Digital trickery melds awkwardly with the live action, especially in the watery climax, which cannot arrive soon enough.

Thirteen-year-old orphan Maria Merryweather (Dakota Blue Richards) is forced to seek lodgings with her gruff uncle, Sir Benjamin Merryweather (Ioan Gruffudd).

Accompanied by dithering governess Miss Heliotrope (Juliet Stevenson), Maria arrives at the estate carrying her inheritance: a leather-bound copy of ‘The Ancient Chronicles Of Moonacre Valley’, which reveals her family’s dark history, including the doomed marriage of Sir Wrolf Merryweather (also played by Gruffudd) and the Moon Princess (Natascha McElhone).

Star Rating: 2/5