Mending the Line

A Marine wounded in Afghanistan returns home to the US but struggles deeply with the trauma of war. The memories of fallen friends haunt him, and he carries the weight of survivor's guilt, along with physical injuries that make daily life difficult. He is sent to a V.A. facility in Montana where he meets a Vietnam Vet who teaches him how to fly fish as a way of dealing with his PTSD and they forge a friendship that changes both of their lives.{{Cite web |date=2023-07-03 |title=Movie Review Mending The Line (2023) |url=https://www.moreview24.com/2023/07/Movie-Review-Mending-The-Line-2023.html |access-date=2023-07-03 |website=Upcoming Movies and Web Series reviews |language=en-gb |archive-date=2023-07-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230703133009/https://www.moreview24.com/2023/07/Movie-Review-Mending-The-Line-2023.html |url-status=live }}

• Brian Cox as Ike Fletcher
• Sinqua Walls as Colter
• Perry Mattfeld as Lucy
• Patricia Heaton as Dr. Burke
• Wes Studi as Harrison

In August 2021, it was announced that Cox and Walls would star in the film.{{cite web|last=Kroll|first=Justin|title=Brian Cox And Sinqua Walls To Star And Exec Produce 'Mending The Line'|date=August 20, 2021|website=Deadline Hollywood|url=https://deadline.com/2021/08/brian-cox-sinqua-walls-mending-the-line-1234818314/|accessdate=June 27, 2023|archive-date=July 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230705205104/https://deadline.com/2021/08/brian-cox-sinqua-walls-mending-the-line-1234818314/|url-status=live}}

Filming occurred in Montana in September 2021.{{cite web|last=Elwell|first=Matt|title=Fly fishing movie is being filmed in Southwest Montana|date=September 7, 2021|website=KBZK|url=https://www.kbzk.com/news/outdoors/fly-fishing-movie-is-being-filmed-in-southwest-montana|accessdate=June 27, 2023}}

The film premiered at the Woodstock Film Festival on September 29, 2022.{{cite web|last=Hullender|first=Tatiana|title=Brian Cox Teaches Sinqua Walls To Fish In Mending The Line [EXCLUSIVE CLIP]|date=September 23, 2022|website=Screen Rant|url=https://screenrant.com/mending-the-line-video-brian-cox-sinqua-walls-fishing/|accessdate=June 27, 2023|archive-date=June 27, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230627121100/https://screenrant.com/mending-the-line-video-brian-cox-sinqua-walls-fishing/|url-status=live}} It was also shown at the San Diego International Film Festival on October 22, 2022.{{cite web|last=Kraft|first=Tim|title=Exclusive: Perry Mattfeld and Joshua Caldwell on Mending the Line and Telling Important Stories|date=October 20, 2022|website=MovieWeb|url=https://movieweb.com/perry-mattfeld-joshua-caldwell-mending-the-line-interview/|accessdate=June 27, 2023|archive-date=June 27, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230627121816/https://movieweb.com/perry-mattfeld-joshua-caldwell-mending-the-line-interview/|url-status=live}} Then it was released in theaters on June 9, 2023 by Blue Fox Entertainment, and on demand on September 26, 2023 by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The movie arrived on Netflix on March 23, 2024.{{Cite web |last=Moore |first=Kasey |date=2024-03-28 |title='Mending The Line' Director on the Movie Becoming a Hit on Netflix |url=https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/mending-the-line-director-on-the-movie-becoming-a-hit-on-netflix/ |access-date=2024-03-30 |website=What's on Netflix |archive-date=2024-03-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240330102309/https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/mending-the-line-director-on-the-movie-becoming-a-hit-on-netflix/ |url-status=live }} The film shot up to #1 on the Netflix US Top Ten where it remained for five days and maintained its overall position in the Top Ten for the first week of its release. {{Cite web |last=Schaefer |first=Sandy |date=2024-03-26 |title=A Brian Cox Led Drama Has Taken Claim Of Netflix's Number One Spot |url=https://www.slashfilm.com/1548307/brian-cox-drama-mending-the-line-netflix-number-one-movie/ |access-date=2024-04-02 |website=SlashFilm}} The film also cracked the Netflix Global Top Ten at #10 despite only being available in the US.{{Cite web |title=Top 10 Movies on Netflix Right Now |url=https://www.netflix.com/tudum/top10/ |access-date=2024-04-03 |website=www.netflix.com |archive-date=2024-04-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240402191132/https://www.netflix.com/tudum/top10/ |url-status=live }}

{{Rotten Tomatoes prose|77|6.7|22|ref=y|access-date=July 4, 2024}} {{Metacritic film prose|56|4|ref=yes|access-date=July 4, 2024}}

Owen Gleiberman of Variety gave the film a positive review and wrote that it "has a rote TV-movie look and a few bland and rambling passages. But it delivers a truth about those who have served, about the reality of the demons that can linger in them, that’s tough and moving."{{cite magazine|last=Gleiberman|first=Owen|title='Mending the Line' Review: In a Moving Drama, Brian Cox and Sinqua Walls Are War Veterans Who Help Each Other Heal|date=June 9, 2023|magazine=Variety|url=https://variety.com/2023/film/reviews/mending-the-line-review-brian-cox-sinqua-walls-1235639241/|accessdate=June 27, 2023}}

Gary Goldstein of the Los Angeles Times also gave the film a positive review and wrote, "That said, the movie is worth a look for its lovely and magical fly-fishing sequences and stirring Big Sky vistas (shout out to cinematographer Eve Cohen), as well as its strong cast..."{{cite news|last=Goldstein|first=Gary|title=Review: 'Mending the Line' casts a familiar but effective story about remedy and redemption|date=June 8, 2023|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2023-06-08/review-mend-the-line-brian-cox-sinqua-walls-fly-fishing-montana|accessdate=June 27, 2023}}

Bill Goodykoontz of The Arizona Republic awarded the film three stars out of five and wrote, "But through its setting and performances, “Mend the Line” has just enough going for it to recommend it."{{cite news|last=Goodykoontz|first=Bill|title='Mending the Line' isn't just another fly-fishing melodrama. Here's how it hooked me|date=June 6, 2023|newspaper=The Arizona Republic|url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/entertainment/movies/billgoodykoontz/2023/06/06/mending-the-line-review/70278773007/|accessdate=June 27, 2023|archive-date=June 27, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230627113933/https://www.azcentral.com/story/entertainment/movies/billgoodykoontz/2023/06/06/mending-the-line-review/70278773007/|url-status=live}}

The film won the Valor Award at the San Diego International Film Festival.{{cite web|title="Mending the Line," filmed in Montana, premiers in Bozeman|date=June 8, 2023|website=KEMC|url=https://www.ypradio.org/2023-06-08/mending-the-line-filmed-in-montana-premiers-in-bozeman|accessdate=June 27, 2023|archive-date=June 27, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230627120231/https://www.ypradio.org/2023-06-08/mending-the-line-filmed-in-montana-premiers-in-bozeman|url-status=live}}

{{reflist}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20240323075114/https://www.netflix.com/title/81768966 Mending the Line] on Netflix
• {{IMDb title}}

Category:Films shot in Montana

Category:American drama films