Bobby Miller, a wounded and abused young man, has had his share of unhappiness as he has been pushed around too much. His parents, who have emotional problems have not cared for him. When in desperation, he shows up at the home of his aunt Vicki, a writer, he is at the end of his rope. Not only are his wounds psychological, but he suffers from sleeping disorder as well. It takes his aunt a lot of courage to come to understand what this lost soul is lacking.
Vicki not only takes care of his pressing problems, but she is instrumental in his rehabilitation. In order to give him confidence, she rents him an apartment in the garage of her landlord. Bobby, who is easily influenced at this point of his life, mixes with some punks that only use him to crash in his living space. When someone trashes the place, Vicki has no choice but to get him back with her.
Bobby's redemption comes in a way of computer science. He is clearly ahead of his peers. This is told to Vicki by his instructor, who encourages him to go ahead and make something out of himself. Finally, Bobby, with the love and guidance from his caring aunt, goes into college and a new life. Vicki got out of this teen ager much more than his whole family, who failed him completely. She turned him into a person with a future ahead of him because Vicki recognizes the goodness inside his heart.
This film was directed by Peter Levin. The main attraction for seeing the made for television movie was Marcia Gay Harden, an actress with a fine intuition for bringing life to the characters she plays. This is the case with her Vicki, an intelligent approach to who this woman was. Taylor Handley appears as Bobby, the teen ager that has been dealt a bad hand by his own people. Also in the cast the marvelous Marian Seldes, Kate Nelligan and Regina Taylor.
"In From the Night" is a truly inspirational film about a subject not too many people talk about, but that affects a lot of families.
