The Russell Girl
| The Russell Girl | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Written by | Jill E. Blotevogel |
| Directed by | Jeff Bleckner |
| Starring | Amber Tamblyn Jennifer Ehle Henry Czerny |
| Theme music composer | Jeff Beal |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Cinematography | Charles Minsky |
| Editor | Geoffrey Rowland |
| Running time | 120 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Release |
|
The Russell Girl is a 2008 television movie directed by Jeff Bleckner. It premiered on the Hallmark Channel on January 27, 2008 and stars Amber Tamblyn as a young medical student who must come to terms with her past.[1]
Synopsis
Sarah (Amber Tamblyn) is a young woman who has recently discovered that she has leukemia right before she also discovers that she has been accepted to Northwestern University's medical program. She decides to put her school on hold so she can travel back home to tell her parents Gayle (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) and Phil (Tim DeKay) about her recent diagnosis. However at the same time Sarah is convinced that this is retribution for a tragic accident that involved her neighbor Lorainne's (Jennifer Ehle) baby.
Cast
- Amber Tamblyn as Sarah Russell
- Jennifer Ehle as Lorainne Morrissey
- Henry Czerny as Howard Morrisey
- Paul Wesley as Evan Carroll
- Tim DeKay as Phil Russell
- Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as Gayle Russell
- Daniel Clark as Daniel Russell
- Ben Lewis as Jon Morrissey
- Max Morrow as Rick Morrissey
- Richard Leacock as Dr. Gordon
- Richard Fitzpatrick as Ray
- Rebecca Dreiling as Karaoke Girl
- Max MacBride as Young Jon
- William Cuddy as Young Rick
- Paula Barrett as Fran
Reception
Critical reception has been mixed.[2][3] Time Out gave The Russell Girl three stars, commenting that it "ultimately feels a touch slight, like a decent short story that’s diluted when expanded into a novel, but it’s got enough substance to do good things for Tamblyn’s career."[4] Post Gazette praised the film for its acting but commented that "Because this is a Hallmark Hall of Fame production, never doubt that reconciliation, communication, hope and family will triumph."[5] USA Today panned the film as being too overly familiar, as they felt it was the "same old Hallmark stuff".[6]
References
- ^ Hernandez, Ernio. "Ehle and Mastrantonio Cast in CBS-Hallmark Movie "The Russell Girl"". Playbill. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
- ^ Russell, Gilbert. "The long and short of it: CBS movie drags on interminably". Boston Globe. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
- ^ Fries, Laura. "Review: 'The Russell Girl'". Variety. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
- ^ Johnston, Andrew. "The Russell Girl (review)". Time Out. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
- ^ Heinrich, Jim. "TV Review: Moving 'Russell Girl' examines themes of guilt, reconciliation". Post Gazette. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
- ^ Bianco, Robert. "'Russell Girl': The same old Hallmark stuff". USA Today. Retrieved November 7, 2014.