Rails & Ties (2007)

Director:

Alison Eastwood

Writer (WGA):

Micky Levy (written by)

Release Date:

18 April 2008 (Brazil)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

When life comes apart, love puts it back together.

Plot:

A deadly collision between a train and car lead to an unlikely bond between the train engineer and a young boy who escapes the carnage. |

Plot Keywords:

Train | Train Engineer | Punctuation In Title | Husband Wife Relationship | Cancer

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Kevin Bacon	...	Tom Stark
Marcia Gay Harden	...	Megan Stark
Miles Heizer	...	Davey Danner
Marin Hinkle	...	Renee
Eugene Byrd	...	Otis Higgs
Bonnie Root	...	Laura Danner
Steve Eastin	...	N.B. Garcia
Laura Cerón	...	Susan Garcia
Margo Martindale	...	Judy Neasy
Kathryn Joosten	...	Mrs. Brown
Steven M. Porter	...	Howie Pugh
Jim Cody Williams	...	Vince the Engineer
Kerri Randles	...	Rosanna
Stephen Peace	...	Bartender
Robert Harvey	...	Administrator #1

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic elements, an accident scene, brief nudity and momentary strong language.

Runtime:

101 min | Argentina:109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Canada:14A | Singapore:NC-16 | Argentina:13 | Netherlands:6 | Australia:M

Company:

Malpaso Productions

Trivia:

Alison Eastwood's directorial debut.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: (2007-11-10)" (2007)

Touching and Moving

I rented this on DVD and am wondering why they took out the Additional Scenes in the movie that are on the Special Features. I was hoping there would be some interviews on the DVD, but alas, had to settle for just the Additional Scenes.

This movie has typical Lifetime TV earmarks, but with a lot more to give. I was especially impressed with Miles Heizer in his role of the young boy. It is a good story that gives both character insight angles of the victim and the accidental killer. I applaud the casting done here. Kevin Bacon's role was perhaps the best choice to play this particularly difficult part, and he conveyed/portrayed it very well. I can't think of any other actor who could have pulled it off.

The emotional dramas did cause me to pull out some hankies, but they did not dwell on this content in an overdone fashion. I am weary of movies that linger on with many scenes of someone dying in bed of cancer (which was not done at all in a great movie "Who Will Love My Children"), but they kept the IV drip bit scenes to a tolerable minimum. The tears were not associated so much to the cancer bit, but was with how the story was put together ... very, very well done.

This young 14-year-old lad, Miles Heizer, is a gem and I really hope to see more of him performing in more films. This movie I recommend when you're in an emotional mood of viewing pleasure. It's definitely worth the rental fee.