Hallmark did make some good films in 2019 in all their seasonal blocks, though it was another hit and miss year for them. Merritt Patterson and Jack Turner have done good work elsewhere. Ireland is an exquisite place with scenery to die for. The idea was quite nice if not innovative and had potential for a cute, charming film if done right. The mixed reviews though did dampen my expectations a bit, especially considering that the more negative reviews were from trusted users.

'Forever in My Heart' was watched with as open a mind as possible with all of this in mind. Even when taking it for what it was and what it was trying to do, so not expecting Oscar-worthy material, the film didn't do it for me. It is not a waste of time and there are good things, but 'Forever in My Heart' just didn't click on the whole. Ireland, Patterson and Turner deserved better, while two of them don't come off badly at all one disappoints a lot.

Am going to start with the good. The best thing about 'Forever in My Heart' is Ireland itself, the scenery is absolutely gorgeous and the photography really enhances its beauty. Would go as far to say that this is one of the better looking 2019 Hallmark films, and it is a shame that the film overall does not match that. The music suits the tone and doesn't come over as over-emphasised or used too much.

Patterson is charming and provides the one source of spark from the cast, as a character that isn't too perfect or overly flawed. Actually found her character, while typical, quite rootable in her quest. The supporting cast do very well despite being in underwritten roles.

Turner on the other hand didn't work for me, and this is being said with a heavy heart as somebody who usually likes him. His performance consists of mumbling and not much else and his character is not easy to warm to. While this reviewer really tries to not be nit-picky it is agreed that the accents are distractingly bad (especially Turner's). Really do not try to not criticise accents, but it is hard to when Irish accents are stereotyped so often and most of the time badly and borderline distastefully which was the case here. Patterson and Turner don't have any chemistry together, too distant and too cautious, and the relationship never really grows.

What also didn't work were the story and pacing. The story is very draggy and too thin, not going very far for some of the length. Also found it very predictable and some of the situations not always logical and tepidly resolved or anti-climactic. The direction plods and the script can sound awkward, too schmaltzy and quite drab. Tension is almost completely lacking and the romance just doesn't register, while the film takes itself too seriously. The warmth and charm just isn't there. Only Patterson's character is interesting of the characters, the others are underwritten.

Concluding, rather lacklustre. 4/10.

Pretty scenery and pretty lead stars can't save this grating movie. Will exes reunite before one of them is about to marry? It is set in Ireland. The lead actor has a bad Irish accent that sounds like just whispering everything quickly. It's predictable because her new fiancé is not as good looking. So obvious.

Yes the scenery was the star and not just the breathtaking kind like the cliffs, but every day Irish scenery too. My wife's biggest memory of Ireland is those skinny roads and yes we saw some of them in thia movie.

The story lacked something even beyond not tying up lose ends. It seemed disjointed. There were no big highs nor any big lows. Of the two or maybe three major conflicts, one didn't get resolved, one ended very quietly and the third was the lead up to the obvious ending. In broad strokes, this movie was predictable which is almost automatic with a Hallmark romance. However, getting there didn't rely completely on overused tropes and cliches. The save-the-family-business trope gets old, but this had a slightly different approach to it. Also, the story seemed to ramble a bit. I think I can see how the inn's problems were supposed to have been solved, but the movie jumbled it up some and didn't explicitly explain it.

When the biggest problem seemed to be too little staff and not enough time, they sure had time to hike and bike and do other things. Charlie's big plan at the end doubles down on this and really didn't make a lot of sense either.

Merritt Patterson is one of what the Hallmark networks need - new and especially younger stars. I love a bunch of the veterans, but so many of them are over 40 and that's not really a good start-a-family age which is the kind of story you want to see at least a good percentage of the time. Patterson and Turner are decent actors for this brand, but not really knock-your-socks-off people. Patterson has beautiful eyes and her closeups are striking. In this movie, I didn't see the chemistry between the leads. And the guys' singing sounded off. Accents? They sounded off too, but at least for Turner it wasn't heavy.