Produced right after his award-winning Anne of
Green Gables, Kevin Sullivan’s Looking for Miracles boasts a
quality cast with many familiar faces from his ensuing, much-loved TV
series, Road to Avonlea.
Ryan Delaney (Greg Spottiswood) is the restless,
teenage son of a single, hard-working Irish mother, who is still
recuperating from tuberculosis. Desperate for a college education, Ryan
is determined to get a job; not an easy feat in Depression-era Ontario.
During her bout with TB, Ryan’s mother was forced to give up her younger
son Sullivan (Zachary Bennett) to the care of relatives. Now, with all
but the wealthiest being affected by the economic crash, her sister can
no longer afford to carry for the little boy, and Sully is returning to
live with his family.
Though under eighteen, Ryan finally finds a job
working as a counselor at a boy’s camp. As Mrs. Delaney works long
hours, Ryan is forced to take Sullivan with him to camp --a decision
with which he is not at all pleased, as he has little time or interest
for his younger brother. However, when he arrives at camp, Ryan realizes
he has other worries. As director of the 10-yr. olds’ division, he gets
a little more than he was expecting in the form of an underprivileged,
charity case the other boys call "Ratface" (Noah Godfrey).
The
film is not without its faults. Ratface back-talks the counselors on
more than one occasion. He uses a couple of swear words on receiving bad
news from home. We see him and Sully testing a cigarette, and he
boastfully tells Sully about drinking beer with his father. This
characteristic is not played up as admirable, however; instead, the
scene is used as an opportunity for Sully to see into the heart of a
hurting boy. An immature counselor jokingly calls someone a ‘jacka**.’
Another counselor ogles as the camp nurse hangs her undergarments
(modest in comparison to nowadays) on a clothes’ line. Two counselors
hold a night-time tryst with counselors from the girls’ camp across the
lake, which includes some kissing. Most obvious, however, is Ryan’s
blatant lying in order to get the job.
However, these actions are not without their
consequences. Although he is pardoned, Ryan eventually has to
acknowledge his lies. The two counselors experience natural, painful
consequences for breaking camp rules and meeting with the girls. The
film manages to redeem itself in the form of little Sullivan Delaney.
Played by an engaging Zachary Bennett (Felix King from Road to
Avonlea), Sullivan’s gentle compassion allows him to look past
others’ hard exteriors and into their pain. His loyal adoration of a
brother who initially rejects him is a beautiful lesson in forgiveness.
With high-quality acting (Spottiswood won an Emmy award for Best Actor
for his part as Ryan) and moments of humor and redemption, this is a
film that, despite its flaws, captured my heart.
LOOKING
FOR MIRACLES
