This is based on a true story and book. Sam plays the author. It stars Carol
Burnett and Ned Beatty as Iowa farmers (Peg and Gene Mullen) whose son
(Michael) dies in Vietnam. They start a sort of unintentional anti-war movement
by speaking out and writing letters against the senselessness of it. Learning
he was killed by US artillary and that there might have been alcohol involved,
they become suspicious of the circumstances surrounding their son's death and
the military's secrecy. Sam is a journalist/writer (Corty, C.D.B. Bryan, short
for Courtlandt Dixon Barnes, poor baby) who reads about their case in the newspaper. He becomes
quite friendly with them (It seemed like he stayed at their home for a week and
later they stayed with him in CT.) and (to his wife's concern) immerses himself
in trying to find out the truth for them. He thinks that will help them put
their son to rest. He travels quite a bit to interview anyone who has a piece
of the story. When he has an answer, he returns to the family's farm to tell
them. He's very warmly welcomed by the parents, but when he tells them the
truth, they become angry with him. He found that it was just an accident of war
with no intentional secrecy, not some horrendous drunken incident with a giant
cover-up. The parents (particularly the mother) had become quite wrapped up in
the injustice of their loss and didn't really want the truth. They seemed to
feel he betrayed them by NOT finding a conspiracy. Corty is very hurt by this.
He was very close to them. He's shown to be quite touched and shaken by all the
stories that he heard in his search. He hesitates to write the book he'd
originally planned. His agent sympathetically tells him to "stop
bleeding." At the end, on the 2 year anniversary of the death, he meets
with Gene and Peg to pay respects at the grave and is accepted, albeit
grudgingly. He ultimately writes a book of the same title about it.
All the performances are excellent, as would be expected. It reminds of MSS in
some ways. Parents so grief-stricken that they make a cause of their child's
loss. In this case, it is definitely to the detriment of the family.
Where Sam is concerned, he doesn't show up until halfway through, but he steals
the show (IMHO). We get to see him, briefly, with his wife and 2 small, and
doing the laundry. <LOL> Actually, he just handed it off, with an
apology, to his wife.
Seriously, this is a very compelling movie and Sam's wonderful in it.
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