The story of a woman who survives the car accident which kills her husband, but discovers that she has the power to heal other people. She becomes an unwitting celebrity, the hope of those in desperate need of healing, and a lightning rod for religious beliefs and skeptics.
Acting
Burstyn's face holds entire sermons without speaking
Cinematography
Golden hour Midwest that feels like faded memory
Writing
Shepard's angry skeptic speech is devastating
Director
Daniel Petrie
Ellen Burstyn
Edna
Sam Shepard
Cal
Richard Farnsworth
Esco
Roberts Blossom
John Harper
Clifford David
George
Pamela Payton-Wright
Margaret
Jeffrey DeMunn
Joe
Eva Le Gallienne
Grandma Pearl
Lois Smith
Kathy
Madeleine Sherwood
Ruth
Richard Hamilton
Earl Carpenter
Carlin Glynn
Suzy Kroll
Lane Smith
Don
Penelope Allen
Ellie
Ebbe Roe Smith
Hank Peterson
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Burstyn fought the studio for months; they wanted flashier miracles, she insisted on restraint. She was right.
Released same year as 'The Elephant Man' and 'Ordinary People'—Hollywood's brief obsession with dignified suffering, then it vanished.
US
