All Roads Lead Home
By Ed Hulse -- Video Business, 11/17/2008
ANCHOR BAY/STARZStreet: Jan. 13
Prebook: Dec. 11
> Bolstered by strong performances, this heartfelt family drama deals with love and loss.
After losing her mother in a car accident, 12-year-old Belle Lawlor (Vivien Cardone) rebels against her grief-stricken father (Jason London) and goes to live with her maternal grandfather (Peter Coyote) on a small farm. There, Belle champions nonproductive animals slated for death and thus develops an inner strength that helps her bring the family together again. Deeply moving but never cloying, All Roads Lead Home tackles difficult themes in a family-friendly way. The performances are uniformly fine, with young Ms. Cardone exhibiting special promise.
Shelf Talk: A Best Feature Film winner at this year’s International Family Film Festival, Roads also secured kudos from various animal welfare groups and an endorsement from the Dove Foundation, which monitors movies for family-friendly content. But it’ll need dedicated plugging and promotion to make a dent in the marketplace. Note that this is one of the last projects of much-beloved late actor Peter Boyle (Everybody Loves Raymond).
Family drama, color, PG (mature themes, brief language), 108 min., DVD $26.97Extras: none
Director: Dennis Fallon
First Run: L, Sept. 2008, <$1 mil.
