Wish You Well

Ellen Burstyn and MacKenzie Foy are well cast. The setting of the movie in 1940 and Southwest Virginia are both nostalgic and beautiful. The movie faithfully follows the excellent book by the same name. The story moves along with a good pace. Josh Lucas' portrayal of a country lawyer is very believable. Keith Tyree handles his part very professionally. The different areas for filming were well chosen with the courthouse very representative of a period building. The antique vehicles picked to compliment the year 1940 were a good touch. The cinematography and sound is well done. The editing had a few areas that overlooked some obvious mistakes such as the 1938 Buick had 1938 license plates rather than the correct 1940 ones. There was a cell tower on a hill in the background and there were round bales of hay which wouldn't have around in 1940. All in all, a wonderful film.

This movie is stunning with a lovely lilting pace, beautiful photography and a cast of actors young and old to be proud of. I would never have guessed this is a low budget film. It is superbly done.

Some viewers will find this a bit slow for them, but if you perceivere you will love it.

I don't think I have ever seen an Ellen Burstyn performance that I did not like and MacKenzie Foy was just excellent in her role. In fact both children were rather well played by MacKenzie Foy and JP Vanderloo.

If you are not into historical stories or aren't fond of feel good movies, give this a miss, you probably won't like it either. This is no lovey dovey romance, but it is a really good movie that can be watched by most, although not necessarily appreciated by all.

Overall I really liked it and recommend it to anyone who wants to feel good about the world for a moment.

6/10

I had such a nice time seeing this film for the festival in Indianapolis. I was particularly impressed by its content. It is sure to be a family favorite. There aren't many films that are fit to take children to see. This film is both appropriate and enjoyable for the entire family. It was heartbreaking at times to walk the life of these young children. the film easily moved a mother to tears. tears of sadness and confusion on how a mother could lose her connection to her children. And then to tears of joy as she reclaims her position as a loving mother. The shots from autumn in Virginia were gorgeous with their valleys of crimson and amber. The crew did an amazing job capturing the beauty of this area. The leading characters also gave a very memorable performance. I hope that many others will have the opportunity to see this film on the big screen. Family films like Wish You Well are what's my mothers are hoping to see more of in the theaters.

No, it's not action packed as is usually the case with a lot of movies now, but more importantly it took me to another time and place. A place that I didn't want to leave. I'm not going into details, I want you to watch this. I honestly savored every minute of this movie and took my sweet time watching it. Very well crafted and edited and I was honestly surprised at the seemingly simple ease at going back in time, to another place and taking you right along with them. I cannot recommend this enough. James Welch Henderson, Arkansas 11/26/2020