'Amish Grace' poor retelling of Lancaster County tragedy
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Kimberly Williams-Paisley and Matt Letscher portray parents grappling with a shooting in "Amish Grace."
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"Amish Grace," the story of the 2006 shooting at an Amish schoolhouse in Lancaster County, begins with a disclaimer that acknowledges the cable movie is based on a true story but "certain events and characters have been fictionalized, including the Graber family," the primary focus of the film.
No wonder the authors of the book the movie is based upon, "Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy," are distancing themselves from this Lifetime Movie Network film. They released a statement saying they were not involved in the film, declined producers' request to consult on the movie and would donate their share from the sale of film rights to a nonprofit organization.
"Other than knowing that the upcoming movie mixes fictional characters with factual events, we know nothing about its content," wrote authors Donald B. Kraybill, Steven M. Nolt and David L. Weaver-Zercher in a statement. "We are therefore unable to comment on its merits. We do know that Amish people are skeptical of movies and books about Amish life that blur fact and fiction, and particularly a movie that addresses such a painful subject. For that reason and others, we decided not to assist the filmmakers in the course of the movie's production."
"Amish Grace," airing at 8 p.m. Sunday on LMN, traffics in every terrible TV movie cliche.
It begins six months after the shootings as a replacement school opens and then flashes back to before the shooting in Nickel Mines, introducing viewers to the Graber family, including mother Ida (Kimberly Williams-Paisley, "According to Jim") and father Gideon (Matt Letscher, "Eli Stone"). They have two daughters, including one who yearns to be a teacher and appears to have a bright future, which effectively telegraphs the tragedy that will befall the character.
This is the primary problem with "Amish Grace": It uses a sledgehammer, shunning nuance the way the Amish avoid using electricity.
The film handles the shooting sensitively -- it's not shown and viewers don't even hear gunshots -- and then it's on to the recriminations as Ida refuses to forgive the shooter or his devastated wife, Amy (Tammy Blanchard), even as Gideon and the Amish elders reach out to Amy to offer forgiveness and comfort.
First Published March 25, 2010 12:00 am
