I just love this movie!! The story line is awesome, and the acting is phenomenal!! Funny, sad, interesting, fantastic writing. I've watched it about 20 times now, and I'm sure I'll watch it dozens more times. They say my review is not long enough, so I will say it again. I love this movie, and if you like drama/suspense, you should most definitely watch this one now. A+++

My sidekick gave it a 2, I give it a 3, we both agree it's made for TV and belongs on Lifetime or Hallmark. Fine for burning a few hours on the couch on Sunday, but not a good movie. The script is evidence of the thousands of movies that came before this one and the fact that the writer and producer had to somehow come up with something "new" enough to get the project funded. So the plot is rather cockamamie, forced, and silly soapy. While there are necessary unexpected twists and turns, the predictability came in the form knowing exactly when the writer was forced to add a new twist, and our "uh-huh, sure, yeah right" reaction each time. Struck us as overwritten and overacted, with bad music and bad attempts at Maine accents. Interesting to see the 1996 version of Marcia Gay Harden, and Ellen Burstyn is a name, however I'm sure they'd agree this is not their best work. Not terrible if you have absolutely nothing to do, but go find something to do.

The divine goodness and love in all of us is masterfully shown by the fabulous actress Alison Elliott whose portrayal of the deep genius of love in the powerful soul of a young innocently convicted girl shows us all how glorious each of us can be and how we can cause horrible results come from our laziness, ignorance or indifference. Next to the story of Jesus' life, this story of the strength that comes from her soul demands that we all pause to consider what we are actually doing with our lives. This is a story of mysteries, people, roles in life, good and bad efforts and what affect each of us can have on all of us. For me, this is the most powerful story from the 20th century and Alison Elliott almost got a leading actress Academy Award nomination which she most certainly deserved. WATCH THIS GREAT MOVIE, originally titled "In Care of The Spitfire Grill" ! IT WILL ENRICH AND ENNOBLE YOUR LIFE. This story is about personal transfiguration in the Holiest way possible.

This movie got pretty bad reviews from the Hollywood Hype-mongers. I suppose because it didn't have a lot of flash. All it had was a well-written original story and superb acting with real characters. Anyone who has ever spent time in a small town can identify with nearly all the characters. I could practically name them all in the town I grew up in. I'm sure the only people who would NOT enjoy this movie are the ones who grew up in Hollywood and believe everyone is like them. If thats not you, rent this movie for a truly enjoyable evening. But you might want to bring tissues. It's a very warm and often funny movie, but it's also very sad in some places. Will Patton is incredible and I honestly don't understand why Alison Elliott hasn't been used more than she has since this movie. Ellen Burstyn was glorious as ever :)