This movie was horribly researched Amish speak with a German accent is one, they are also not encouraged to read out of the bible and it's also written in a difficult language that not even a lot of Amish can read. Another problem with this film is the Amish don't grieve long, they have a funeral and once dirt is thrown over the body they are not to speak of the deceased again I.e. they tore down the school after the shooting and built a new one in another location. The show Amish: out of order with Mose Gingrich explains how they deal with death and they certainly don't seek counseling from an outside source! Also the fact that she had accepted a dress from her sister who is shunned and pictures, if the elders knew she was receiving these things they would have shunned her as well. If the main character was actually planning to leave the Amish she certainly wouldn't have discussed it with her husband she would have just battled that decision on her own. And had they gotten a divorce there would be no exchanging of the child, the youngest daughter would remain in the Amish until she was old enough to leave the faith herself.

I've watched only a few documentaries about the Amish, but even from that few I get the impression that this movie fails awfully to give an authentic portrait of the Amish and their way of life.most of all, it looks like the usual Hollywood-formatted actors and actresses (who are just used to deliver the same performances over and over again) have been put into Amish clothes (the dresses, the suits, the hats, ...) and that's it. for them it doesn't really matter if they are wearing futuristic space suits, medieval garments or just plain jeans and t-shirts. they just deliver their usual acting routine in a Disney-ish happy family idyll environment.the same mimics all over again, as seen in countless other American (aka "english" in Amish-speak) movies before.for me it's just more of the same, just that this time it comes in Amish hats. and that's what's wrong with this movie.

I've never written a review before, but I feel compelled to with this movie. I live in Central PA, I've spent most of my life here, and I work in the media. I remember this tragedy very, very well. I didn't want to watch this movie, but I was visiting a house where it was on. The Amish way of life was very poorly portrayed, it's almost as though the filmmakers did no research. From the little things, Amish don't have curtains on their windows or decorative plates in their homes, to larger issues, no Amish person spoke on camera to the media, they had a spokesperson. They tried to make Ida more like a modern, non-Amish woman in her personality in order to make it easier for those of us outside the Amish lifestyle to understand her better. I know this is a Lifetime movie, but did they have to make her seem like a battered woman seeking help from an outside source to escape. Really?? I remember no mention of a sister being shunned, I can guarantee the media would have been all over her as someone who could go on camera, so I really believe that was a fictional element added to the story to add more conflict. The Amish community pulled together and wanted to handle this tragedy on their own, with no outside help. They never turned to the media, only sending statements through a spokesperson when the media wouldn't leave them alone. The group of grandfathers who went to Roberts' house never spoke to the media, nor would they! They asked people to stop sending money, but millions of dollars came in. Some was accepted to help build a ramp into the home of the one girl who was left in a vegetative state. The only help they asked for and accepted were rides to the hospitals (they were all too far away to take the horse and buggy) and the use of construction vehicles to tear down the original school in the early hours of the morning. There was no reporter who struck up a relationship like that with one of the mothers. The local media has a lot of respect for the Amish and their beliefs. While they were there to get the story, they kept their distance. They didn't do things like shoot Ida's husband straight on and follow him while saying "Do you think that's a father?" The Amish don't allow photos of themselves to be taken and as such, the local media knows how to shoot them (ie from behind or from a distance) in order to allow them some space. For those of you who think this was a correct portrayal of the Amish, just remember it was very skewed to make a more compelling movie, however, with this story nothing needed to be added or changed to tell a heartbreaking story. The authors of the book that the movie was based on publicly distanced themselves from this movie and donated all the money they were given to charity, not even they wanted anything to do with this. Unless you lost a child in a horrific way, none of us can truly understand what these families went through. But the Amish community is very different from those of us outside the community. Different in their beliefs and their lifestyles. By trying to make Ida more like us so that we understand what she's going through was an insult to what all these families went through and how they dealt with it. It's a good thing the Amish don't have televisions so they were spared any image from this movie. Oh, and not only was it poorly researched, but the writing and acting was terrible!

This was the most heartwarming, most amazing movie I have ever seen. It teaches you that no matter what happens in life, you should always have it in your heart to forgive those who do something so terrible that you think you will never be able to forgive them. Once you watch this movie, you will learn to appreciate life and the people around you more. You will learn that while forgiving someone isn't always the easiest thing to do, it's the right thing to do. The Amish are such beautiful, such kind people who's lives are based on love and forgiveness, and they always find the strength to go on. Once you see this movie, you will be deeply touched.