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Amish Grace

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Amish Grace
Promotional poster
Based onWest Nickel Mines School shooting
Written bySylvie White and Teena Booth
Directed byDylan Scharping
StarringKimberly Williams-Paisley
Tammy Blanchard
Matt Letscher
Theme music composerJoseph Conlan
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducerLarry A. Thompson
EditorAnita Brandt-Burgoyne
Running time88 minutes
Original release
NetworkLifetime Movie Network
ReleaseMarch 28, 2010 (2010-03-28)

Amish Grace is a television film that premiered on the Lifetime Movie Network on Palm Sunday, March 28, 2010. The movie is based on the 2006 West Nickel Mines School shooting at Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, and the spirit of forgiveness the Amish community demonstrated in its aftermath.[1]

The movie stars Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Tammy Blanchard, and Matt Letscher[2] and is based on the book Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy, Jossey-Bass, 2007, ISBN 0-7879-9761-7, by Donald Kraybill, Steven Nolt, and David L. Weaver-Zercher.[3][4] Amish Grace was executive-produced by Larry A. Thompson, written by Sylvie White and Teena Booth, and directed by Gregg Champion.[2]

Plot

When a group of Amish schoolgirls are taken hostage and killed in their classroom, their parents and the Amish community of Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, stun the outside world by immediately forgiving the killer. Ida Graber (Kimberly Williams-Paisley), mother of one of the murdered children, has a tougher time than the others accepting the tragedy, but in her anguish and pain, she begins a personal journey of renewed faith, ultimately accepting the heart-wrenching tragedy of losing a child after learning that her murdered daughter, Mary Beth Graber, had promised to pray for the perpetrator before her death; reconnecting with her husband (Matt Letscher), family, and community; offering forgiveness to the killer; and even showing kindness and compassion to the killer's widow (Tammy Blanchard) and children — all in the form of Amish grace.

The film implies that Charles Roberts' motive was that when his daughter died the day she was born, he decided to "get revenge on God" by taking his girls.

The film was dedicated in memory of the victims of the West Nickel Mines School shooting.

Cast

  • Kimberly Williams-Paisley as Ida Graber, an Amish mother who loses her elder child in the shooting and learns forgiveness from the tragedy.
  • Tammy Blanchard as Amy Roberts, the widow of Charlie Roberts whom Ida refuses to accept.
  • Matt Letscher as Gideon Graber, the husband of Ida Graber and father of Mary Beth and Katie Graber.
  • Fay Masterson as Jill Green, a television reporter whom Ida befriends.
  • Karley Scott Collins as Katie Graber, the younger daughter of Ida and Gideon who escapes before the shooting.
  • John Churchill as Charlie Roberts, the perpetrator of the school shooting who commits suicide after firing at the victims.
  • Gary Graham as Henry Taskey.
  • Darcy Rose Byrnes as Rebecca Knepp, a survived victim whom at the end reveals that Mary Beth Graber has forgiven Charlie Roberts.
  • Eugene Byrd as Danny, a camera man who works with Jill Green
  • Amy Sloan as Rachel Knepp, a survived victim and sister of Rebecca Knepp.
  • Madison Davenport as Mary Beth Graber, the elder daughter of Ida and Gideon who promises to pray for the perpetrator before she is killed.
  • Willow Geer as Judith.
  • Jim Metzler as County Sheriff.
  • David Mazouz as Andy Roberts, a son of Charlie Roberts.

Ratings

Amish Grace broke network records in multiple demographics, with more than 4 million viewers, becoming the highest-rated and most-watched original movie in Lifetime Movie Network’s history in Households (3.8/2,916,449 viewers), Total Viewers (2.0/4,020,496), Women 18+ (3.5/2,729,834), Women 25-54 (2.7/1,156,363), Adults 18+ (2.4/3,649,266) and Adults 25-54 (1.9/1,585,667).[5][6][7][8]

Reception

The movie mostly received positive reviews;[9][10][11][12][13][14] however, it received criticism because the authors of Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy, Jossey-Bass, 2007, ISBN 0-7879-9761-7, distanced themselves from the production out of respect to the Amish community.[15] Others criticized the movie for blending facts with fiction.[16]

Awards

References

  1. ^ "Amish Grace". myLifetime. 2010-04-09. Retrieved 2010-04-09.
  2. ^ a b "Amish Grace". IMDb. 2010-04-09. Retrieved 2010-04-09.
  3. ^ "Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy (Hardcover)". Amazon. 2010-04-09. Retrieved 2010-04-09.
  4. ^ "Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy". Amish Grace. 2010-04-09. Retrieved 2010-04-09.
  5. ^ Reynolds, Mike (2010-03-29). "'Amish Grace' Delivers As Highest-Rated Original Telepic In Lifetime Movie Network History". Multichannel News. Retrieved 2010-04-09.
  6. ^ Seidman, Robert (2010-03-29). "Lifetime Movie Network's Amish Grace Breaks Records With 4.02 Million Viewers". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved 2010-04-09.
  7. ^ Kissell, Rick (2010-03-29). "7.6 million watch Kids' Choice Awards". Variety (magazine). Retrieved 2010-04-09.
  8. ^ "Amish Grace breaks Lifetime Movie Net records". The Hollywood Reporter. 2010-03-29. Retrieved 2010-04-09.
  9. ^ Lowry, Brian (2010-03-25). "Amish Grace". Variety (magazine). Retrieved 2010-04-09.
  10. ^ "Six Picks: Recommendations from the Monitor staff". The Christian Science Monitor. 2010-03-22. Retrieved 2010-04-09.
  11. ^ Boatwright, Phil (2010-04-05). "And on TV…Amish Grace". Preview Online. Retrieved 2010-04-09.
  12. ^ Cooper, Jackie K. (2010-03-23). "Amish Grace Is A Story Of Grace Under Fire". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2010-04-09.
  13. ^ Baehr, Dr. Ted; Holder, Jeff (2010-03-22). "AMISH GRACE – Coming to a Greater Understanding of God's Grace". Movie Guide. Retrieved 2010-04-09.
  14. ^ Walker, Angela (2010-04-09). "Amish Grace Is Amazing". Christian Cinema. Retrieved 2010-04-09.
  15. ^ "Movie on West Nickel Mines School shooting draws criticism". Associated Press. USA Today. 2010-03-24. Retrieved 2010-04-09.
  16. ^ DeJesus, Ivey (2010-03-07). "Amish Grace movie fictionalizes Nickel Mines tragedy, generates debate". PennLive.com. The Patriot-News. Retrieved 2010-04-09.
  17. ^ "Finalists Announced for 36th Annual HUMANITAS Prize Honoring Great Television and Film Writing". PR Newswire. 2010-07-14. Retrieved 2011-03-22.
  18. ^ "19th Annual MOVIEGUIDE® Faith & Values Awards Gala and Report to the Entertainment Industry". MOVIEGUIDE. 2011-02-18. Retrieved 2011-03-22.
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