Customer Reviews

Rails and Ties

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

RAILS & TIES, under the guidance of first time director Alison Eastwood, tackles an implausible subject of multiple tragedies resulting in repairing personal breaks and with the able assistance of a groups of excellent actors makes a finely tune, sensitive study of little lives struggling against major odds. It is well conceived, well written (Micky Levy), well acted and sincerely moving.

Tom Stark (Kevin Bacon) is a train engineer, married to his job as well as being married to his nurse wife Megan (Marcia Gay Harden) who is facing the ugly fact that her breast cancer is terminal. The cancer has spread beyond Megan's body into the tenuous space that keeps a marriage glued: Megan attempts to hide her desperate need for emotional support by continuing to work as a nurse and Tom takes on extra train runs to avoid the reality that face him at home. The other side of the story is equally sad: young Davey Danner (Miles Heizer) cares of his psychologically shattered mother (Bonnie Root) and unknowingly accompanies her on a jaunt to 'see the train' - a ploy well planned by the suicidal mother to drive in front of an oncoming train to end her life along with Davey's. The conductor of the train is of course Tom Stark, and when Tom first sees the car on the tracks, he keeps to company policy that recommends gradual slowing rather than the danger of an abrupt stop: the result is the death of Davey's mother but Davey escapes the crash while trying to pull his mother from the car. The tragedies mount: Davey is left homeless, being placed in a foster home run by the cruel 'mom' (Margo Martindale) only to escape to find the 'killer' of his mother; Tom is put on leave for the incident; Megan gets the final word that she has very little time left and is ready to leave the distant Tom. It is this inadvertent entrance of Davey into the lives of Tom and Megan that results in a healing of three souls who are desperate for the connection of love.

While some my find the story implausible and saccharine, others will appreciate the manner in which Eastwood holds rein on the story, playing it for quiet honesty instead of explosive situations. Both Bacon and Harden deliver the quality of sophisticated performances that have marked their careers, and the remainder of the cast gives strong support - especially Eugene Byrd, Marin Hinkle, Bonnie Root, Margo Martindale, and of course Miles Heizer. This is a tough story to tell but the film holds an indelible mark on the viewer. Grady Harp, June 08

RAILS AND TIES is a quiet, well-crafted film that captures the complicated, conflicting emotions people undergo when confronted with terminal cancer. But it's no disease-of-the-week weeper. Instead, it's a gutsy tale of a strong woman (Marcia Gay Harden) who must reassess her life after medical science has ultimately failed her. Her anguished husband (Kevin Bacon) buries himself in his job as a railroad conductor--until a suicidal woman parks her car in front of his oncoming train. Forced to take a leave of absence while the incident is being investigated, Bacon's character must now stay at home and confront his wife's illness.

The main thrust of the story concerns the couple's encounter with the suicide victim's preteen son (Miles Heizer) with whom they develop a parental bond. Although this twist creates new conflicts for the couple, it rekindles their lost relationship--as well as drives the film forward towards its life-affirming conclusion.

The film's performances are superb, and Alison Eastwood's direction is graceful and sublime. Micky Levy's screenplay creates characters that are truly believable and 3-dimensional, and brings us into their world so deeply that we don't want to leave.

I really liked this movie. I had never heard of it. I thought the acting was well done. Yes, the movie is sad, but it works. The story comes together nicely. Defnitely is worth watching.

A roller coaster of a film that does not stray away from the difficult movie topics of suicide and cancer. This will most likely be a must see for any train people (both scale models and in passenger size). I can see the story has already been laid out in the other reviews, boring some and impressing others so I will stick with a production review.

Kevin Bacon portrays hidden emotional tangents as well as always, he looked similar to his character from Woodsman (an often skipped but worthy film). His trademark walk/swagger shows through a couple of times but his performance was believable and in the end, convincing since he had to go from being emotionally stunted to a single parent in one week. Marcia Gay Harden was outstanding and gave her best performance to date as a dying, childless woman in a defunct marriage who had always yearned for a child. The child actor (Heizer) gave his first big performance in film here, and he does not disappoint. The roles of being caregiver to his suicidal mom, to a grieving homeless kid, to the acceptance of the man who drove the train that killed her, could not have been easy. He stumbles a few times but has the early workings and innocent face of a young River Phoenix.

The deleted scenes were so relevant to back story and the kid's time being homeless, they should have been left in just to give something to the lead characters past and present dilemmas. The two actors (in these deleted parts) gave wonderful performances but appeared nowhere else in the film; I cannot even find their credits listed.

At times, customers ask for a film that will uplift them and not make them cry, this film will not be the one I hand them. If they ask for that prolific "good" film with a solid story and believable characters, Rails and Ties will be on the list. The ending has been seen as a happy one, but I disagree. Spoilers following - their ambiguous stroll into that agency could only lead to misery, legal entanglements, people being fired, and probable separation - but I suppose it was the only way it could end realistically. The Eastwoods are known for their unhappy endings though, and I hope this DVD does not get overlooked.

To me this is a movie that will pull at your heart strings (as the saying goes). It's the story of four peoples lives that are changed by circumstances. One part of the story is to do with breast cancer, the other with depression. Both stories intertwine with each other through a bizare accident. You could also say that it is a story of two women who must cope with personal tradgety, and how they each deal with it. The acting is good but certainly not great other than the scenes that involve Miles Heizer (David), the pre-teen son of one of the women. I found that his acting was very well done, especially in four different scenes where he had to act with different and somewhat difficult emotions. For this, I think he should be commended. Marcia Gay Harden I thought did a very good job with her part in this movie, as a woman who has to deal with breast cancer which has become terminal. Some of her scenes are very realistic, having known people close to me who have suffered with this terrbile desease. Lastly there is Kevin Bacon, and I could leave it at that. I've liked Kevin Bacon over the years, but he is not what you would call, a great actor, and does a mediocor job in this move.

The plot moves around a bit, with scenes that are predictable, and some of the story a bit unbelievable, especially in todays society. Set back 20 years, you might see something like this happen, but not today.

All in all, I enjoyed the story, but you have to be a person who doesn't mind a sad story, that has a spurts of happiness intertwines throughout the movie, and a somewhat happy ending.

A train engineer and his dying wife are struggling and not coping with the crisis of her final days, weeks or months. And then the husband is forced to confront the tragedy of a woman's "suicide by train", which leaves behind an orphaned boy.

When that boy shows up on their doorstep, seeking to lash out at the man whom he sees as the instrument of his mother's demise, he finds instead a sanctuary and a place of healing.

The husband and wife, by giving to the boy, are able to turn the wife's final days into a time of building new bonds and reaching out to someone in need.

This poignant tale of loss, love, and the bonds that can develop between people in extreme need, held my attention until the very end.

Kevin Bacon and Marcia Gay Harden were phenomenal in their portrayals of the couple in crisis.

There are many things to like about his film. Like, how about "Kind Woman," my favorite Buffalo Springfield song, in the background at one point--lovely song, perfect placement? Among the most annoying aspects of much contemporary cinema (and TV too for that matter) is the spacious houses that the middle class live in. Roseanne's blue-collar kitchen was the size of the kitchen at the White House. This film is cramped, moving from a small disheleved apartment to a small, crowded house, with a garage usurped by a model train. These are the lives of ordinary folks, living as best they can.

The gripe against this film is probably that "things are never so simple." But I would argue that they often are, and only our narcissistic conceit makes them appear more complicated. People do best when they have someone to love and someone to love them. When a childless couple has allowed a wall to be erected, a child can enable them to not only focus on that child, but on each other as well. Love is, as I repeatedly say, not a feeling, but an action. This couple, broken and lonely and scared and isolated, found a way to look outside themselves at something larger. And in doing so, by placing someone other than themselves at the center of their universe, were able to remember why they married 15 years earlier. And the fact that Kevin Bacon had no father makes the pro-family message even more poignant. We learn how to father from our fathers; when two fatherless boys meet, one can grow into the father role, but only with lots of encouragement and love from his wife.

Now, this film is far from perfect. Kevin Bacon, looking indeed like a young Clint, is given too little to do. I realize he is the brooding loner, who had to be goaded into dating his future wife, but there is too much silence and stasis in here. The ending was both predictable and way too pat. But the emotions were real. They worked. My wife wept several times throughout. Life isn't smooth. Easy. Or simple. But it can be worked on. It can be improved, even in ugly circumstances. Though the tears were legitimate, the tale was upbeat.

So this is an Eastwood family movie, Allison directs, Clint produces, and Kyle writes the soundtrack. Sadly there wasn't an Eastwood that can edit. The film could be 20 minutes shorter and lose absolutely nothing in emotional build up or impact. Honestly, this is a marginally 1 hour movie.

The good, Kevin Bacon, Marcia Gay Harden, and the boy Miles Heizer. Miles did a remarkably good job at his age, he was believable as a boy that age.

The bad, just about every other character. Sadly they all seemed to be reading their lines.

The train scenes, and Oh I love my trains, were not really all that wonderful. The train thread didn't work very well with the story line. There wasn't much of a metaphor here to really sink your teeth into.

My apologies to those that really loved this film and cried. I just didn't buy it. Didn't really love these characters enough to care what happened to them. It was a very sad movie that was just way too predictable.

I watched this touching, thoughtful, and masterfully acted story this afternoon, just wanting to relax a little after a tough week. I didn't foresee experiencing healing emotions, tears (of sorrow and of joy), and memories of a similar situation in my own life. The main 3 actors, famous as they are, disappear into the characters. I felt like I was sitting next to them...and in the story, myself. I had no choice but to be affected by this movie, in a meaningful way. Thank you to Kevin Bacon, (mesmerizing in this character), Marsha Gay Harden (such a beautiful, tender soul), and the young boy (simply excellence). This is one of the best Saturdays I've had in a while.

I enjoyed this movie. It is sad and very dramatic but well acted and enjoyable. The story is intense but heart warming and well worth watching.