The Russell Girl

A very different and exceptional Hallmark entry dealing with grief, guilt, blame, and hope. The entire cast is fine, with the wonderful Jennifer Ehle, Amber Tamblyn, and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantono standing out in pivotal roles.

Sarah Russell (Amber Tamblyn) is an associate buyer at Macy's and aspires to get into medical school. She finds out that she has leukemia. She's going home to tell her parents (Tim DeKay, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio). She holds off when her parents tell her that she got into Northwestern University. She reconnects with old boyfriend Evan Carroll. There is something dark in the past with her next door neighbors Lorainne Morrissey (Jennifer Ehle) and Howard Morrisey (Henry Czerny). She wonders if her leukemia is karma for past deeds.

The movie is a little too precious with the secret. This is not really a mystery movie. I'm fine with holding off the reveal but it lasts about 10-20 minutes too long. It gets a little annoying that the movie won't say it out loud. Tamblyn delivers a very compelling performance. It's a great little movie after the reveal with Sarah struggling to connect with Lorainne. Jennifer Ehle also gives a great full performance. It never gets too surprising and the movie is a traditional tear-jerker.

The Russell Girl deals about fear, guilt, suppressed feelings, anger, and the need to let go of the past, and to embrace the future.

The Russell Girl went back to visit her family, to tell the news about her health. She was suffering from leukemia. However, when she got home, she couldn't find the courage to let her parents know about it.

And her distant past caught up with her. She remembered vividly what had happened years ago, when she was entrusted to babysit her neighbor's's kids. Tragedy ensued that night, and they blamed her for the mishap.

Overall, a good film, albeit a tad too slow for my liking. The ending was predictable and expected.. However, that is in no way saying that the film wasn't good or anything. It is just that it may not be everyone's cuppa tea.

I enjoyed the wonderful acting in this movie, and the story line was of forgiving oneself, and others. This portrayal of a young woman's emotional plight was warm and enlightening as sometimes it is easier to forgive others, but yourself is much more difficult. Until she forgave herself, she couldn't go on with her life. Guilt is also many times coming from outside sources, which makes it a challenge to be able to heal. Yes I highly recommend it. James Welch Henderson Arkansas 1/25/2021

This movie is not in any way a romance. There is a couple, but their relationship is not the focus of the movie.

This movie is mostly depressing until near the end. The viewer slowly learns about the tragedy that has taken control of Sarah's life and of her neighbor Lorainne. There are snippets, but it takes a while before the viewer actually sees what happened.

The focus of the movie is dealing with loss and blame. Sarah and Lorainne are bound together in loss. Sarah has recently been diagnosed with leukemia and dwells on that as a kind of Karma or punishment for her part in the tragedy. After the event, she left town to avoid dealing. Lorainne has locked herself away in a kind of self imposed isolation from everyone. It is implied that prior to Sarah's return to town, Lorainne was "doing better" with time, but Sarah's appearance is a setback.

This is where things began to seem odd to me. Despite obviously being unwanted there, Sarah tries to hang out with Lorainne, using excuses to facilitate it. Her purpose seems unclear, but perhaps she is seeking absolution. Lorainne's husband tells Sarah to stay away. Events conspire to bring things to a head, and even some of these developments seemed odd.

In the end, the movie makes its statement about forgiveness and blame. There is also a great deal of courage in one of the characters, that to me, came up out of nowhere.

There are excellent things about this movie, especially the main themes. The acting is mostly good. I deducted a few stars because: 1) the depressing atmosphere pervades most of the movie. I have seen other movies by Hallmark that went deep into the subject of loss with a much lighter tone. Two Turtle Doves stands out as a movie I think of for the subject of loss. 2) I just didn't buy the way Sarah and Lorraine interacted, especially before the turning point. I'm also not sure the movie gave enough explanation for the reason behind that turning point. It's tough to fit everything into a 90 minute movie, but maybe they could have left out some of the story about Sarah and her high school ex.

I'm sure many people will find this movie compelling. In that sense I recommend it. I'm just not sure I want to watch it again.