GROWN UPS DON’T KNOW EVERYTHING!
Little did British film director Bill Clark know that
when his wife encouraged him to read a childrens’
book it would become a project that would take over
his life for more than a decade. The project eventually
resulted in an award-winning movie that will touch the
hearts of all who see it.
The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey is a film
for our credit crunched, cynical times. No sex or violence,
no loud rap music or cool dance moves, this movie is
about hearts and what moves them. It is based on the
book of the same name written by Susan Wojciechowski,
a best seller in the US.
Bill Clarke bought the rights to the book and then
set about making the story into a movie. He succeeded
against the odds, raising a budget of ten million dollars
(US) and enlisting an award-winning cast to create The
Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey, which will be
released here on DVD on November 24th.
Starring Oscar nominated and Golden Globe winning Tom
Berenger and Golden Globe nominated Joely Richardson,
this Christmas movie is for all the family.
Jonathan Toomey (Berenger) known as “Gloomy Toomey”
to the local children, is a fantastic wood carver with
a secret past. Some years before his wife and newborn
son had died – so he locked his heart away and
moved to a lonely log cabin deep in a forest.
Thomas McDowell (played by Luke Ward-Wilkinson of Wild
at Heart and Beautiful People fame) is a young boy living
a happy family life of baseball cards and cookies in
the city with his devoted parents. All this is destroyed
when his father is killed in a far off war. His mother,
Susan (Joely Richardson) is forced to sell their home
and move to the country to live with her sister, leaving
behind Thomas’s beloved Grandfather and the housekeeper
and everything he holds dear.
Just when Thomas thought that his life couldn’t
get any worse, he realises that on the journey to the
country he has lost the family’s wooden carved
nativity set. This is his last link with his father
and his past life.
Angry at the broken promises of grown ups, Thomas retreats
within himself. Nothing is ever going to be the same.
His mother, Susan, decides to try and bring him out
of his shell and a chance encounter with the woodman
Toomey leads her to put aside her own struggles with
grief and ask the carver to create a new nativity set
for the boy. She even convinces the reclusive Toomey
to allow Thomas to watch him as he works.
With each carving the relationship between the man
and the boy grows stronger – each dealing with
their own grief in their own way. They learn to laugh
and move into the future with hope.
Yes, this film does deal with dark themes but more
importantly it deals with life and new beginnings. It
is difficult to write a synopsis of this film without
it sounding like it should have the Samaritans phone
number on speed dial at the end of each showing! But
this takes away from the true nature of this movie,
it is filled with humour and hope. Watch it with your
kids, it’s a movie that should be shown every
Christmas along with all the other classics. A thought
provoking, gentle film for those of us who long for
a time when Christmas was more about people than presents.
Merry Christmas!
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