Life in society and working 44 hour shifts as a medical intern has doctor Lou Diamond Phillips exhausted as his birthday approaches. But his loving adoptive mother Melinda Dillon insists, and Phillips opens a mysterious gift he finds only to see it's from his natural mother, a Sioux, and decides to visit her while on an enforced sabbatical. Going back to the place of his first, he finds out that his mother is dead and comes to the realization that she was murdered. He gets little help from the local law (led by Pa Walton himself, Ralph Waite), and eventually two amazing women (Salli Richardson and Lise Cutler) come into his life to help him as well as his natural maternal grandfather (Apesanahkwat), but it's up to Phillips to find out the truth and he must do so with the spiritual guidance of the woman who gave him birth.
The gentle performance of Lou Diamond Phillips is terrific, so natural that it never appears that he's acting. With gorgeous long hair and a sweet face, he's lovingly appreciative of the people who took him in, but desperate to reconnect with who he really is, and that's wonderful to witness. Both Richardson and Cutler create memorable characterizations, and it's easy to see why he would be attracted to both women. But he can only choose one. Apesanahkwat is amazing as his medicine man grandfather, playing a role of wisdom and heart, and Waite is a sensational villain. The beating Phillips takes from Waite's deputies is near fatal and horrifying to watch, but all it did was make me want to see justice served and for Phillips and his late mother (Tantoo Cardinal) find closure and peace. A genuine sleeper that had me hooked.
The gentle performance of Lou Diamond Phillips is terrific, so natural that it never appears that he's acting. With gorgeous long hair and a sweet face, he's lovingly appreciative of the people who took him in, but desperate to reconnect with who he really is, and that's wonderful to witness. Both Richardson and Cutler create memorable characterizations, and it's easy to see why he would be attracted to both women. But he can only choose one. Apesanahkwat is amazing as his medicine man grandfather, playing a role of wisdom and heart, and Waite is a sensational villain. The beating Phillips takes from Waite's deputies is near fatal and horrifying to watch, but all it did was make me want to see justice served and for Phillips and his late mother (Tantoo Cardinal) find closure and peace. A genuine sleeper that had me hooked.