Rails & Ties (2007)

Absolutely Fantastic

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Mostly from beginning to end this movie is a train wreck of misery and grief.Everyone feels very sorry for themselves. It starts with a train driver who has a wife who is dying of cancer; then a manic fatally ill woman wants to kill herself and son on a train line.Tie up these events as like minded seem to attract each other. And so it goes on.... Can a child save the driver and wife from their self pity? Will there be some respite from all the sorry!? Hmmm.Kevin Bacon is a fine actor but I thought his performance here was less than perfect.This movie is salvaged by the acting of Marcia Gay Harden and the kid Miles Heizer who vie between themselves to steal the show.Those people who want movies full of tears and sadness may enjoy(endure) this one.5 and a half out of ten rounded up hence: 6/10.

I started watching this movie because it sounded like it involved something about a train accident. It does, but that's not what this movie is about. What got me is the sad clip of the train engineer's wife looking at her mastectomy in the mirror - couldn't stop watching after that. The story is both tragic and uplifting - but most of all it's compelling to watch once you get started.Storywise, it starts out with a mother who commits suicide by placing her car in front of an approaching train. The train engineer makes a judgment call to hit the car instead of risking a sudden stop. Eventually, her son finds his way into the lives of the engineer and his terminally ill wife... and the story progresses from there.The story itself is unusual and that made it a somewhat novel experience. The acting is amazing - esp. by Marcia Gay Harden (the ill wife). It's definitely a show worth watching if you're looking for a well-done drama.

This is the first directorial effort of Allison Eastwood (Clints talented daughter). Her Brother Kyle co-wrote the music, (proving once again the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. She like her Dad is a sparing director & does a darn good job,Anothwe first is the author of the screenplay Micky Levy. This is not a remake of the old sentimental tearjerker SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY, It thankfully is a modern reworking. It is still a sad somber tale, BUT it is not maudlin.The acting is first rate all the way. Kevin Bacon is excellent as the train engineer, whose train was involved in a tragic fatal accident, which is the crux of the rest of the story,Narcia Gae Harden is Kevin's wife who is in the last stages of cancer. & of course she is excellent as usual.Miles Heizer a 14 year old lad is the son of the woman killed in the train accident.He is excellent, I hope he has a large long career ahead of him.It is obvious the movies was made on a very tight budget & for some reason it only played in a handful of theatres for a few weeks.] It deserved a better fate.;This is an adult film & is way too mature for youngsters, No sex scenes, very brief nudity (needed for plot purposes), minimum violence & very little foul or coarse language.If you like sentimental films, see this.Ratings: *** (out of 4) 82 points (out of 100) IMDb 7 (out of 10)

RAILS & TIES (2007) **1/2 Kevin Bacon, Marcia Gay Harden, Miles Heizer, Marin Hinkle, Eugene Byrd, Bonnie Root, Steve Eastin, Laura Ceron, Margo Martindale, Kathryn Joosten. Unlikely melodrama about a young boy (newcomer Heizer) who comes into the lives of a train engineer and his dying wife (Bacon and Harden respectively) after an act of fate occurs binding the three together through their grief. Actress Allison Eastwood – daughter of Clint – parallels her father in the film-making process in this directorial debut that comes across as a Lifetime TV Movie but she employs many of his skills (i.e. soft fades to black, expert acting, subtle camera movements) that overlook the script's shortcomings.