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

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

Colour:

Colour

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)

" Sorrow is the staggering payment we make when investing in love "

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. ***