Rails & Ties

I know very little of this movie until I saw it. All I know is that it's about a railroad engineer and his wife who's suffering from cancer. There's another element in the movie that I didn't know about until I saw the movie and it's about a young boy who has a troubled mother. Somehow the lives of the couple and the young boy would intersect literally and tragically. All this sounds like a melodrama from the 1930s. And in many ways it is, but it also has a brutal frankness in it that the 1930s movies didn't have.

The movie stars Kevin Bacon as the train engineer and his wife played by Marcia Gay Harden, we could see that there's a riff in their marriage. He would much rather work than spend time with his wife even though his boss is telling him he could have some time off. She doesn't understand why he's being so distant. It's obvious he's burying himself in work as she faces a dire future. This part of the movie is very frank as we see the despondency both have.

The other element in the movie is the boy played by Miles Heizer. He has a troubled mother, it's obvious he has become the adult in the relationship. He enters the engineer's world angrily and he blamed the engineer for the death of his mother. The engineer's wife would take pity on him and soon he finds himself staying with them. Somehow the tragedy that took the boy's mother would bring something that the boy has never had and the couple thought they lost.

It's really a simple melodrama but it has a frankness in it that they would never consider in the 1930s. One unforgettable scene is when she looked at herself in the mirror and see the scar cancer has left and breaks down, while he was on the other side of the door not knowing what to do. During one argument he blurts out angrily "Because You had cancer", it sounds as if he were angry at her. Obviously he's angry at the disease for what it has taken away from him, the possibility of children and now his wife. Also when the boy was crying out blaming himself for the death of those he love. It's very honest and frank how children sometime blame themselves for things they do not understand.

Credit and blame goes to both the writer Mickey Levy and director Allison Eastwood created a group of characters who are very complex and are facing difficult situations but then it spirals into sentimentality. The story of the engineer and his wife by itself is powerful then add the story of the boy trying to go on with his life and understand what's going on would make the movie even more powerful but when the two story is combined it became too sentimental.

Miss Eastwood's directing style is very similar to that of her father, tell the story in a straightforward way and get out of the way of the actors, The acting is superb, it's obvious that both Mr. Bacon and Miss Harden are very good actors but young Mr. Heizer proves too that he has talent. He's definitely a young talent to keep an eye on.

All in all I think it's a good modern melodrama but with the frankness of modern times but then it spiraled into an almost shameless, unabashed treacle.

I started watching this movie because it sounded like it involved something about a train accident. It does, but that's not what this movie is about. What got me is the sad clip of the train engineer's wife looking at her mastectomy in the mirror - couldn't stop watching after that. The story is both tragic and uplifting - but most of all it's compelling to watch once you get started.

Storywise, it starts out with a mother who commits suicide by placing her car in front of an approaching train. The train engineer makes a judgment call to hit the car instead of risking a sudden stop. Eventually, her son finds his way into the lives of the engineer and his terminally ill wife... and the story progresses from there.

The story itself is unusual and that made it a somewhat novel experience. The acting is amazing - esp. by Marcia Gay Harden (the ill wife). It's definitely a show worth watching if you're looking for a well-done drama.

Mostly from beginning to end this movie is a train wreck of misery and grief.Everyone feels very sorry for themselves. It starts with a train driver who has a wife who is dying of cancer; then a manic fatally ill woman wants to kill herself and son on a train line.

Tie up these events as like minded seem to attract each other. And so it goes on.... Can a child save the driver and wife from their self pity? Will there be some respite from all the sorry!? Hmmm.

Kevin Bacon is a fine actor but I thought his performance here was less than perfect.This movie is salvaged by the acting of Marcia Gay Harden and the kid Miles Heizer who vie between themselves to steal the show.

Those people who want movies full of tears and sadness may enjoy(endure) this one.

5 and a half out of ten rounded up hence:

6/10.

RAILS & TIES (2007) **1/2 Kevin Bacon, Marcia Gay Harden, Miles Heizer, Marin Hinkle, Eugene Byrd, Bonnie Root, Steve Eastin, Laura Ceron, Margo Martindale, Kathryn Joosten. Unlikely melodrama about a young boy (newcomer Heizer) who comes into the lives of a train engineer and his dying wife (Bacon and Harden respectively) after an act of fate occurs binding the three together through their grief. Actress Allison Eastwood – daughter of Clint – parallels her father in the film-making process in this directorial debut that comes across as a Lifetime TV Movie but she employs many of his skills (i.e. soft fades to black, expert acting, subtle camera movements) that overlook the script's shortcomings.

To often humans seek out comfort in the embrace of another. It's natural and necessary if we want to remain human. However, the price we pay is terrible when giving our love to parents, loved ones and close friends. In addition, tragic events add to our loss when inexplicably we lose those who are close to us. This film encompasses such a tragic loss when Tom Stark (Kevin Bacon) is at the controls of his train when Laura Danner (Bonnie Root), a suicidal mother parks her car upon the tracks and awaits death with her son. Despite his best efforts, Stark is unable to prevent the accident. The woman is killed and her son Davey Danner (Miles Heizer) blames her death on the engineer. With the accident troubling his mind, Stark is further burdened with his ailing wife who is dying of cancer. In addition, Davey becomes an orphan, sent to a foster home from which he runs away from and seeks refuge with Stark and (Marcia Harden) his sickly wife. The story is deeply complex and extremely ladened with anxiety, conflicting emotion and troubling situations. It attempts to intertwine both family understanding and compassion grief. Although Kevin Bacon is superb in his acting and is ably supported by Miles who is equally great, some selected scenes are slow to develop, morosely dark and too often the audience is hampered with confused and poorly directed endings. Nevertheless, the story is awash with deep feelings and emotional surges which confront human beings everyday. ***