Gathering Reviews
Gathering
Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 10/25/2011 Run time: 120 minutes Rating: NrA fondly remembered holiday item from the latter phase of a great age of TV movies, The Gathering has an irresistible idea and a splendid central performance from Edward Asner, the actor for whom the term gruff but lovable was surely coined. We learn in the opening seconds of the film that Asner's character, a well-to-do businessman named Adam Thornton, has been diagnosed with a terminal illness; he's got three
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One of the best holiday heart-tuggers,
This is a lovely little made-for-TV film, with a good script, sound acting, and the enjoyment of watching familiar faces. Ed Asner and Maureen Stapleton head a cast that includes Lawrence Pressman, Veronica Hamel, Gregory Harrison, Stephanie Zimbalist, Gail Strickland, Edward Winter, and more. Yes, the “dying man making amends” plot seems a little weepy, but this family interacts in a way that reminds us how real families are: lots of ruffled feathers that are ignored when the chips are down. My husband and I have a rare VHS copy of this gem, and watch it every holiday season with a fresh box of tissues nearby.
With all the trash available on DVD these days, it’s a shame that this film isn’t similarly formatted for all to enjoy. In a nation supposedly concerned with “moral values,” people are snapping up far lesser efforts. If you can find this one, it will become a part of you.
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|Superb Christmas Drama Highlighting One Family’s Forgiveness And Compassion,
I first became acquainted with this highly moving 1977 Christmas Television movie during one Christmas season in the mid 1980’s when it was shown late on Christmas Eve. I immediately fell in love with its simple story filled with much identifiable human drama, great characters and first rate performances by all cast members. Christmas is often a time of reflection and efforts by families to come together despite their conflicts and differences during the past year and the storyline of “The Gathering”, uses these very issues to perfection in its beautifully thought out screenplay. “The Gathering”, centres its story around one man’s recently diagnosed terminal illness which makes him reflect on his wasted life where ambition and the obsession to succeed in big business has cost him not only his wife, his children and his home, but also his inner sense of self worth. Ed Asner still best remembered for his role on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”, here takes on a very different kind of role as driven business man Adam Thornton who with only a few months left to live enlists the help of his long estranged wife Kate, (a superb Maureen Stapleton), to gather together for one last Christmas, his four children whose love he sacrificed in his quest for business success. What unfolds is a beautifully crafted tale highlighting the power of forgiveness and family unity against all odds, and while it is indeed on the sentimental side ( which I love incidently!), the film also never shies away from illustrating many all too common human failings and the harmful effects they can often have on those we love.
I firmly believe that very few present day movies dealing with the often complex relationships existing within families come anywhere near the emotional impact that “The Gathering” delivers. It really comes from what I can now see as the “Golden Age”, of television movies in the 1970’s and 1980’s and at its premiere screening for Christmas 1977 was a great success with both viewers and critics earning a coveted Emmy Award for that year as Best Television Movie. That great acclaim and success led to a sequel two years titled simply “Gathering 2”, that focused on Kate finding a new man played by Efrem Zimbalist Jr, entering her life at Christmas time. Both these films are amazingly not available on DVD as of Christmas 2007 which is such a major disappointment considering the much loved reputation of the original film which has only ever been available in sub-standard EP VHS editions. Much of the film’s memorable quality is due to the near perfect chemistry of veteran performers Ed Asner and Maureen Stapleton and this film deserves to be released properly for a new audience to be able to enjoy it. Try to seek out “The Gathering”, during this coming Christmas season as it is an emotional viewing experience you wont regret and which I know I cherish every year at this time.
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|Bucky Sappenfield of Columbus, OH,
This is my favorite Christmas movie. I too wish it would come out on DVD. This is a classic, Christmas tear jerker, filled with forgiveness, redemption and love.
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