There was a stint in my adolescence, where, instead of doing my English homework, I'd watch Fried Green Tomatoes and weep into the couch. Not long after, my mother and I rented Terms of Endearment and we both became runny-eyed mushmouths. We still do this sort of thing together, seeking the ultimate in feminine release — the good cry. Rails & Ties, the directorial debut of Clint Eastwood's daughter Alison, is right up our alley. Megan Stark (Marcia Gay Harden), in her final stages of cancer, decides, with the help of Dylan Thomas, to "rage against the dying of the light," and live her life without the regrets that have become commonplace in her disappointing marriage to train engineer Tom Stark (Kevin Bacon), whose infatuation with choo-choos long ago lost its boyish charm. But in a freak accident, his train hits a suicidal mom, orphaning eleven-year-old Davey Darren. Things are looking pretty bleak, but the heartwarming salvation comes when Davey arrives on the Starks' doorstep and, instead of unleashing an assault worthy of his developmental trauma, wins his way into Megan's heart.
Rails & Ties' long-shot coincidences could be compelling if they didn't feel so purposeful. Too much is invested in the symbolism of rails — the "ride" is predicable. Leave it to some runaway orphan to save a marriage in the knick of time, soften the steel heart of a "train guy" and symbolize the emptiness of a family devoid of offspring. If Rails & Ties were a Lifetime movie, I'd forgive it for lines like, "At least I'm alive — you're dead inside and everybody knows it!" But as it stands it sort of spoiled the whole wet, salty purge. I only gave my eyelash a little rub. . . once. — Lauren Belski