The Odd Life of Timothy Green - Released Nationwide April 5th

We went to the preview of the new Disney film The Odd Life of Timothy Green, the other day at the Everyman Cinema in Maida Vale (a gorgeous cinema, with sofa style chairs and food delivered to your seat.) It's the story of a happily married couple, Jennifer Garner  -who is like a younger version of Julia Roberts and Joel Edgerton. They are desperate for a child, but have been told there is no way they will have one. At the beginning of the movie they are seen earnestly putting their case forward to adopt a child at an agency and as they begin to tell their story, we flashback to the day Timothy came into their lives.

Back to the night the couple have been told they will never have children. They are drinking and we see them quite inappropriately dreaming up what their ideal child would be like - a scene that just didn't ring true. Their boy would be: honest to a fault, Picasso with a pencil, the boy who scores the winning goal etc. They then bury the bits of paper in the garden and...hey presto there is a terrible storm and Timothy appears at their door covered in mud with leaves growing on his shins. Despite this improbable start and the slightly too-sweet tone of this movie, it made me smile and indeed cry and there are a few twists and turns that are genuinely unexpected. The boy who plays Timothy is adorable, known only as CJ Adams.  The film is directed by Peter Hedges who directed one of my favourite films of all time, What's  Eating Gilbert Grape.

This is a sweet family film, that we all need after a bitterly cold and depressing winter. I defy you not to be just a little bit moved.