8 jours pour mon fils

Nineteen-year-old Dustin Milligan (as Joseph "Joe" Spring) likes fast cars and fast women. He's reckless behind the wheel, but mother Kelly Rowan (as Teresa) thinks Mr. Milligan has become a "good driver" now that he's back on the road, after losing his license for six months. Milligan wants to take the car out to a party for the weekend. While they have some reservations, mother Rowan and father Shawn Doyle (as Tim) disagreeably give him permission to make the trip. However, he loses his cell-phone during a pre-trip sex date and doesn't call home as promised. Rowan calls the police, but they can't declare Milligan a missing person right away. Beginning the investigation on their own, the family soon discovers something has gone terribly wrong...

"Inspired by a true story," according to the introduction, this starts out as a very believable drama. Milligan is convincing as a good looking young man interested in sex and cars. Rowan is fine as his increasingly frantic mother. For a supposedly true story, there are some notable problems, however. Matthew Matheson (as Powell River) plays a young boy who stands in the middle of an oncoming car – this suicide attempt (?) and his later solo (?) trip to the police station are not credible. Younger (?) siblings Tegan Moss (as Becca) and Ryan McDonell (as Will) seem older. Perhaps most puzzling is a crash victim's exposed body not attracting wild life. Still, director Norma Bailey and the crew manage to keep the story engaging – and the music is terrific.

****** Eight Days to Live (4/2/06) Norma Bailey ~ Kelly Rowan, Dustin Milligan, Shawn Doyle, Tegan Moss

I am giving this movie a 7 out of 10 because of its very real portrayal of our Canadian RCMP and Police systems and how they respond when a person goes missing. This portrayal is exactly how it happens and so real it is eerie. The fact that Joe is nineteen, a teenager and male is also a big factor in the reaction to his being missing. The Mother in the movie with the hair in her face, this is just for effect. The family would never be allowed to search with Search and Rescue as they are not trained. A boy showing up in the middle of the road, very out of place and why?. Drugs and young girl on face book very believable and possible though not in this case. I have a son that is missing and never been found. He also travelled in the PG area though that is not where he is missing. It has been extremely difficult and painstakingly slow over the years to get the RCMP and police to follow up on my missing son. It is exactly what this family went through for the week extended over years. I was very grateful that Joe lived. The helicopter pilot in real life would never have gone up in the air against orders. In real life the Mother would never be allowed to touch Joe at the accident scene as in the case of another scenario she would contaminate evidence. my real life opinion e

I found this film very absorbing in its motive and writing. Whether based on facts or not, it was well done. Directed well by Norma Bailey whom I trust had a lot to do with the fine casting. Paced very well by writers, David Fraser, Peter Smith and Greg Spottiswood. Acting was exceptional with Kelly Rowan and Shawn Doyle as the parents of the boy who became missing. Doyle underplayed beautifully in support of Kelly Rowan who played the lead. I loved her acting but hated her hair. What woman on a rescue mission would travel with her too long hair covering her face. Realistically there is much underbrush, bad weather and such in the way and she's running around with these too long tresses for a woman of her age blowing in the wind. Annoyed me very much and took away from watching her. Even the daughter played by Tegan Moss, had the sense to have her hair pulled back out of her face. Both she and Ryan McDonell played the siblings of our young man, Dustin Milligan. They were excellent in the roles, well cast. Katherine Isabelle plays the floozy who misleads our hero. Not a very interesting role and not the greatest acting was needed. Just to look bored through it all, no heart, and she did that. Michael Eklund was her cohort in evil and overplayed a bit. But then, there are really people like that out there. My favorite in this, although they all were good, was Gwynyth Walsh as the helicopter pilot who broke the rules to help find the boy. I had seen her earlier in Her Only Child where she played an overbearing mother possessive of her only daughter. She played such a different role in that which definitely shows this actress's versatility. She was wonderful in a small role in this.

I don't think the story itself was that remarkable, so they had little choice but to pad it out. Unfortunately, it drifted off into so much fiction, it left little but the main concept (boy stranded for 8 days) of the actual story.

In response to the other reviewer who said the weather was warm there, it dropped to 2C (nearly freezing) at night, according to the CBC news account.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2001/05/30/bcteen_010530.html

I would like to have seen more of young man's struggles during this time. The bears and wildlife would have been an interesting element to add.

I enjoyed this movie even though it is very predictable from scene one. Kelly Rowan, who is beautiful, is excellent (really perfect) as the terrified, but determined mother. The other performances by the other family members were fine, but none really stood out in my mind. The story is well-paced and the Canadian scenery is superb as is usual in Lifetime movies (which I believe are generally underrated). One embarrassingly bad (almost comedic) role was turned in by Michael Eklund as Weaver, the bad dude in the movie. I thought his role, and his "acting," were totally unbelievable, way overacted. He looked like a poorly drawn comic book villain. Whoever cast him should get their hands slapped. Despite that, it was an entertaining movie and worth seeing. Based on an intriguing true story.