"Doesn't feel substantial enough to have warranted a big-screen release and would work so much better had it just been on the telly..."

When hearing about Frances Lea’s Strawberry Fields, I was instantly drawn to the title, hoping, assuming even, that this could be a film loosely related to The Beatles. However, I had been mistaken. It just happens to be set in a field made up of strawberries.

We follow Gillian (Anna Madeley), seemingly escaping from somewhere, or someone, she finds herself at a strawberry field, stumbling across the place at the right time as she is awarded a job as a picker. Instantly she feels more at home, feeling a genuine rapport with Kev (Emun Elliott) who also works there, as romance blossoms. However, her freedom doesn’t last long as we soon find out what she had been escaping from; her sister Emily (Christine Bottomley).

Emily is an evident thorn in Gillian’s side, as she appears to be vindictive and cruel to her sister, although she is clearly suffering from a mental illness. She too lands a job as a strawberry picker, and upon her arrival this serene, peaceful environment is put into jeopardy, as Emily’s antics bring out the worst in her sister, as they fight and argue, with a hapless Kev stuck somewhere in between.

Initially it is rather clever how Lea leads the audience to believe this is a tale about Gillian, yet having taken you down that path it soon transpires that this film is actually more about Emily. However that could be a conscious move, almost as if a reflection of the characters predicament, and how Emily continuously manages to come in to Gillian’s business and take all of the attention away from her sister.

When Emily enter the fray it makes Gillian seem relatively normal, but up until that point she seemed mad as a hatter, away with the fairies for most of the time. I’d love to meet their parents. However as a result of how mad the sisters are being portrayed, it does make them both highly annoying. I’m sure that is Lea’s intention for that to be the case, especially concerning Emily, who we aren’t supposed to embrace. In that case it is certainly a testament to the actors that the characters are so irritating, it shows they did a good job. They also manage to portray mild insanity with humility and without melodrama, particularly Madeley who despite her air-headed nature is somewhat endearing.

However Strawberry Fields lacks within it’s story and overall significance. It just doesn’t feel substantial enough to have warranted a big-screen release and would work so much better had it just been on the telly. That way you’re free to change the channel too.

Strawberry Fields is relatively enjoyable in parts, but mostly forgettable, offering little to it’s audience, failing to fully captivate and engross the watching faithful. It does feel somewhat naturalistic though, which I like, although it shoots itself in the foot from a realism perspective by setting the film during a “hot British summer”. Hmm.