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Cast: Macha Grenon (Barney's Version), Gil Bellows (The Shawshank Redemption), Julia Stone
It’s 1976 and Elizabeth is just your average suburban 11-year-old praying for adolescence to arrive when she discovers her whole life has been a lie. With only her imagination to guide her, Elizabeth runs away in search of her true identity. Her adoptive mother Marion is then forced to break out of the carefully constructed “truth” she’s been clinging to and go after her daughter. This leads to a cathartic cross-country trek by a mother searching for a daughter who’s searching for a mother – both of them really searching for themselves.
Growing up can be confusing and hard at times, Elizabeth is having a hard enough time waiting for adolescence to kick but she she finds out on her own she was adopted her world turns upside down. One day while watching television she sees Dolly performing "I Will Always Love You" on her then syndicated television show called "Dolly" and imagines Dolly is her birth mother. She then is determined to cross the border to the U.S. where Dolly is having a concert to confront her.
"The Year Dolly Parton was My Mom" has a lot going for it, for starters it has a terrific cast. Gil Bellows and Macha Grenon are both terrific as the adopted parents but for me the film belongs to Julia Stone who gives an outstanding performance as Elizabeth. I see a very bright future ahead for this talented young actress. Also you can't have a film with a name like this without mentioning Dolly herself. Everyone loves Dolly and even though her screen time is limited her music is a vocal point all the way till the end credits. Writer/Director, Tara Johns does a terrific job at keeping the film moving at a good pace and she really knows how to tell a story that is at times funny, heart-felt and full of every human emotion you can imagine. This is the kind of film that made me fall in love with cinema in the first place.
As far as the story goes I think I've already told you too much, to truly appreciate the film you have to see it for yourself and you can on 1/24/12. "The Year Dolly Parton was My Mom" is targeted at a female audience but anyone with a heartbeat is going to find this to be a touching coming of age film about a mother searching for her daughter and a young girl searching for the truth, but what they don't know is their both really searching for themselves and each other. The film also tackles the whole adoption issue as well and raises a few important questions like how young should a child be before he or she is told the truth. I loved every second of this film and I fell in love with it's story and characters plus I had a great time listening to all those great Dolly songs all over again. I highly recommend this film to everyone, it's one of those gems that touches the heart and stays with you long after it's over.
The DVD comes with Special Features that include:
Behind the Scenes Featurettes- “Coming Together”, “Becoming Elizabeth/Ruby”, “A Sense of Place”
Audio Commentary by Director Tara Johns & Producer Barbara Shrier
Behind the Scenes
Photo Gallery
Trailer
You can order the DVD HERE.
Released by Osiris Entertainment
***** Out Of *****