Some movies can be talked about without spoiling; however, I fear this is not one of those. Best you know nothing else, save for this is primarily a teenage love story. I'm thinking young teens and pre-teens might enjoy it quite a bit. Unfortunately, I'd been alerted to the film's mysterious little secret prior to the production. Too bad, that may have spoiled the picture's playful teasing at that riddle for me. It's a tease that dominates, continuing up to, perhaps passed the middle of the film. After which, however, the progressions stumble.

Though a bit of a patchwork in script and production, a glossy, rich green, environment almost makes the picture work. Dialogue and score meander out of the forest to the edge of cliché; older viewers may be pushed over, while younger ones may very well be pleasantly swept away.

As a tale, this yarn might have spun better if told from Winnie's point of view. Instead "Tuck" hogs, trying at once to be a magical woods fable of a very special family, a love story, and a more personal portrayal of a young woman's coming of age. As a result, neither "branch" ever really blossoms. Further, personifying evil with Ben Kingsley (who is over the top amazing in a much harder edged production "Sexy Beast") feels rather contrived here and serves to simplify the story rather than develop it.

Still, Alexis Bledel's performance is quite remarkable -- immaculate facial expressions. And the themes of flushing the most out of the life/death cycle resound fairly well.

"Some people will do anything to keep from dying; and anything to keep from living their lives."