What If God Were the Sun?
| What If God Were the Sun? | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Stephen Tolkin |
| Written by | Janet Dulin Jones (teleplay) Jamie Pachino (teleplay) John Edward (novel) |
| Music by | Laura Karpman |
| Editing by | Gib Jaffe |
| Distributed by | Lifetime Television |
| Release date(s) | 2007 |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
What If God Were the Sun? is a 2007 American television movie directed by Stephen Tolkin. The teleplay by Janet Dulin Jones and Jamie Pachino, based in part on a novel by John Edward, explores the relationship between a grieving nurse and her terminally ill patient. It originally was broadcast by Lifetime Television on May 14, 2007.
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[edit] Plot synopsis
Jamie is an ER nurse preparing for her upcoming wedding. When her policeman father unexpectedly dies in a hospital room adjacent to the one in which she's caring for a patient, her grief consumes her life, severely affecting her job performance and her relationship with her fiancé. Not until she meets Melissa, who is facing death from cancer with a sunny outlook and an unwavering faith in God, does Jamie begin to cope with her feelings and question her religious beliefs, including her conviction that the afterlife doesn't exist.
[edit] Principal cast
- Gena Rowlands ..... Melissa Eisenbloom
- Lacey Chabert ..... Jamie Spagnoletti
- Sarah Rafferty ..... Rachel Eisenbloom
- Sam Trammell ..... Jeff
[edit] Principal production credits
- Executive Producers ..... John Edward, Brenda Friend, Gina Rugolo
- Original Music ..... Laura Karpman
- Cinematography ..... Robin Loewen
- Production Design ..... Tim Bider
- Costume Design ..... Darena Snowe
[edit] Critical reception
In her review in Variety, Laura Fries said, "Rowlands is easily the best thing about the pic, and faces its many challenges, including cliches and colossally bad dialogue, with her reputation fairly unscathed . . . ultimately even [her] presence can't save the film from its own overwrought emotions and preposterous posthumous allusions. Perhaps the dead are always with us, but they would surely be grateful to miss this one." [1]
Marilyn Moss of The Hollywood Reporter observed, "Its parts don't always mesh or make sense - storywise and otherwise - but anyone who stays with the characters long enough won't come away empty-handed . . . the story [wants] to be too many things and encase too many issues and events. Still, who cares about such small matters if it means getting to watch Gena Rowlands on the screen?" [2]
[edit] Nominations
Gena Rowlands was nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie for her performance.
