Saving Grace

Saving Grace is a feel-good romp which gives a modern spin on Ealing Studios-style comedy. Widowed and penniless after her husband's suicide, Grace (Brenda Blethyn) is left with massive debts and no obvious salvation, until her dope-smoking gardener Craig Ferguson (the film's co-writer) asks for the use of her green fingers to nurse his marijuana plant back to life. Sweeping aside any moral qualms and attracted to the swift return on investment, a desperate Grace launches into mass production, which brings her into conflict with the conservative local community, drug lords in London and the police.



The film was the brainchild of Mark Crowdy, the writer-producer whose credits include The Mystery Of Edwin Drood and the recently-completed Sorted. He was introduced to comic actor Craig Ferguson by Cat Villiers, who became executive producer. They spent almost four years re-writing the screenplay, during which time the film's financing fell through a couple of times. A medley of European players eventually provided backing.



Director Nigel Cole, best known for the television series Cold Feet, says the challenge was finding the right tone: "The script screamed Ealing comedy so much, it was my job to play against that. I felt that if I made it as modern as possible, the traditional British comedy in the script would come through."



The film won the audience award at this year's Sundance Film Festival, grossed £1.9m in the UK and was released in the US in August by Fine Line.