Night Ride Home (film)

Night Ride Home
Video release artwork
GenreDrama
Based onNight Ride Home
by Barbara Esstman
Teleplay by
Directed byGlenn Jordan
Starring
Music byBruce Broughton
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producerRichard Welsh
ProducerGlenn Jordan
CinematographyNeil Roach
EditorDavid Simmons
Running time94 minutes[2]
Production companyHallmark Hall of Fame Productions
Original release
NetworkCBS[3]
ReleaseFebruary 7, 1999 (1999-02-07)[1]

Night Ride Home is a 1999 American drama television film directed by Glenn Jordan and written by Ronald Parker and Darrah Cloud, based on the 1997 novel of the same name by Barbara Esstman. It stars Rebecca De Mornay, Keith Carradine, Ellen Burstyn, and Thora Birch. Its plot follows a family coping with the death of their son, which his sister inadvertently caused. It aired on CBS on February 7, 1999, as an episode of the Hallmark Hall of Fame anthology series.

Cast

Production

Filming took place in Portland, Oregon.[4]

Critical response

David Kronke of Variety praised the film as a "handsome, intelligent and well-burnished production," and a "thoughtful and sensitive examination of how a family copes with grief."[4] Terry Kelleher of People compared the film negatively against the 1980 film Ordinary People.[1] Don Heckman of the Los Angeles Times criticized the film's screenplay, noting "the presentation of these issues is far too calculated, and their solutions far too quickly accomplished. The script’s simplistic method of resolving what in real life would be significant emotional trauma is to provide a cathartic scene that almost immediately prompts a change in characters."[5] Ron Wertheimer of The New York Times praised the film, writing that "Night Ride Home has the courage to depict imperfect people who are walloped by a heartbreaking loss and emerge only slightly wiser and no more perfect than before. The centerpiece of the film... is the quietly disturbing performance of Rebecca De Mornay."[3]

References

  1. ^ a b Kelleher, Terry (February 7, 1999). "Picks and Pans Review: Night Ride Home". People. Archived from the original on May 27, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  2. ^ "Night Ride Home". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on May 27, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  3. ^ a b Wertheimer, Ron (February 6, 1999). "TELEVISION REVIEW; On Surviving the Pain: Don't Try to Do It Alone". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 27, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  4. ^ a b Kronke, David (February 3, 1999). "Night Ride Home". Variety. Archived from the original on May 27, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  5. ^ Heckman, Don (February 6, 1999). "Hallmark's 'Home' Thin on Dramatic Impact". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 27, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.