Directed by:
Ulu GrosbardScreenplay:
Stephen SchiffCinematography:
Stephen GoldblattComposer:
Elmer BernsteinCast:
Michelle Pfeiffer, Treat Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, Jonathan Jackson, Scott W. Mckinlay, Ryan Merriman, Brenda Strong, Alexa PenaVega, Tony Musante (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
Beth Cappadora (Michelle Pfeiffer) is at her high school reunion when her 3-year-old son disappears from his brother's care. The little boy never turns up, and the family has to deal with the devastating guilt and grief that goes along with it. Nine years later, the family has relocated to Chicago. By a sheer fluke, the kid turns up, living no more than two blocks away. The authorities swoop down and return the kid to his biological parents, but things are far from being that simple. The boy grew up around what he has called his father, while his new family are strangers to him; the older son, now a teenager, has brushes with the law and behavioral problems. His adjustment to his lost brother is complicated by normal teenage churlishness, and the dad (Treat Williams) seems to expect everything to fall into place as though the family had been intact all along. It's a tightrope routine for actors in a story like this, being careful not to chew the scenery while at the same time not being too flaccid or understated. For the most part, the members of the cast deal well with the emotional complexity of their roles. Though the story stretches credulity, weirder things do happen in the real world. The family's pain for the first half of the film is certainly credible, though the second half almost seems like a different movie. Whoopi Goldberg plays the detective assigned to the case; casting her is a bit of a stretch, but she makes it work. All in all, a decent three-hanky movie in the vein of Ordinary People. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Michelle Pfeiffer
USA
Best movies:
Scarface (1983)
Stardust (2007)
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Treat Williams
USA
Best movies:
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
Hair (1979)
Whoopi Goldberg
USA
Best movies:
Michael Jackson: HIStory on Film - Volume II (1997) (video compilation)
The Lion King (1994)
Toy Story 3 (2010)
Jonathan Jackson
USA
Best movies:
Insomnia (2002)
On the Edge (2001)
Unsung Hero (2024)
Scott W. Mckinlay
Best movies:
The Deep End of the Ocean (1999)
Gag (2006)
Ryan Merriman
USA
Best movies:
Taken (2002) (series)
42 (2013)
Comanche Moon (2008) (series)
Brenda Strong
USA
Best movies:
A Plumm Summer (2007)
Starship Troopers (1997)
Red Dragon (2002)
Alexa PenaVega
USA
Best movies:
Do You Believe? (2015)
Spare Parts (2015)
23 Blast (2014)
Tony Musante
USA
Best movies:
Once a Thief (1965)
The Incident (1967)
The Repenter (1985)
Michael McGrady
USA
Best movies:
The Bear (1984)
The Thin Red Line (1998)
Keith (2008)
Lucinda Jenney
USA
Best movies:
Rain Man (1988)
Thelma & Louise (1991)
Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
Nancy Sullivan
USA
Best movies:
The Deep End of the Ocean (1999)
Drake & Josh (2004) (series) - actor, a.f.
Boiling Point (1993)
John Kapelos
Canada
Best movies:
Tootsie (1982)
The Breakfast Club (1985)
Thief (1981)
Scott King
USA
Best movies:
The Deep End of the Ocean (1999)
Crazy in Alabama (1999)
NetForce (1999) (TV movie)
Wayne Duvall
USA
Best movies:
Prisoners (2013)
Falling Down (1993)
Apollo 13 (1995)
Olivia Summers
Canada
Best movies:
The Deep End of the Ocean (1999)
Vindicta (2023)
Steve Ireland
Best movies:
Journey of the Heart (1997) (TV movie)
The Deep End of the Ocean (1999)
Last Rites (1999) (TV movie)
McNally Sagal
Best movies:
Pleasantville (1998)
The Negotiator (1998)
SLC Punk! (1998)
Pete Sutton
USA
Best movies:
Enemy of the State (1998)
The Deep End of the Ocean (1999)
Robert Clotworthy
USA
Best movies:
NausicaƤ of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
The Iron Giant (1999)
Mulan (1998)