Jewel

I have never heard of this movie until yesterday when I was doing research on movies with actors and actresses that have Down Syndrome. I have Mosaic Down Syndrome and so it got me into tears a few times. Times were different in the 1940s - 1950s. I have had a difficult life but I do well considering. I live on my own, I can drive, and most importantly I give hope and inspiration to new families when they get the diagnosis that their child has Down Syndrome. I love doing what I'm doing in the Down Syndrome community. Providing acceptance, kindness and inclusion

The cast did a super job on accepting.

Once again, Farrah Fawcett rises above typical television sentimentality and gives a strong performance as a mother facing the hardship of raising a child with Downs Syndrome. Fawcett deserves an Emmy nomination for her potrayal of a woman who gains strength through adversity, and who is the anchor of a family beset by emotional duress and dysfunction. Farrah, both strong and soft, hard and sensitive, continues to grow as an actress. Hopefully, she will be provided even better scripts and direction in the future. Fawcett's turns in The Burning Bed, Small Sacrifices, Dr. T and the Women, and Extremities have shown us that she outgrew her Charlie's Angels image years ago, and that she's long overdue for the really juicy roles.

I thought this movie was very good. It showed so much emotion within the family. Farah Faucett was excellent portraying the Mother of a mentally challenged child. It also showed the emotional turmoil which impacted the family as a whole. But I felt it brought out some very true feelings that can occur with parents who have mentally challenged children.

'Jewel' the title character,played by Farrah Fawcett,is a mother of four children who now middle-aged awaits her fifth child.Her newborn baby girl is named Brenda Kay and soon after doctors discover that Brenda Kay has Down Syndrome.They give her 2 years to live but Jewel is undaunted.She believes that if she loves Brenda Kay enough everything will be alright.

That is the basic story and Fawcett handles the character of Jewel well.She plays a woman who has resolved to give up anything and everything to ensure the happiness and well-being of her daughter,even if it means that she does so at the expense of her other children and her husband.The story and the characters were handled well enough but personally,it did not make as much of an emotional impact as it could have and the ending was rather disappointing.

The movie is listed as factual but is only partially factual. The main character Jewel went by Myrtis as it is her 1st name and Jewel is her middle name. The part about them moving from Mississippi to California is true she did this and the majority of the family moved with them. The character Brenda Kay did not go by that name she was just Brenda and Kay is actually a granddaughter of the main character. Can't remember if they show it in the movie or not but within seconds of meeting Brenda she would tell you you were fat even if you were not. It was almost like her term of affection. The character Raylene (also not her real name) in the movie tries to kill herself. The actual person never attempted suicide and her name was not used because she would not sign the release after reading that.It is a very touching story to see what she sacrificed for her daughter at the time and continued to all for Brenda throughout her life.