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Rails & Ties

Play trailer Poster for Rails & Ties PG-13 2007 1h 41m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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34% Tomatometer 47 Reviews 58% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
Engineer Tom Stark (Kevin Bacon) kills a suicidal woman when his train slams into her car. Suspended from his job, he must confront his wife Megan's (Marcia Gay Harden) illness finally, but Megan announces she is going to leave him. Unexpectedly, the son (Miles Heizer) of the dead woman, arrives on the couple's doorstep and moves in with them.
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Rails & Ties

Rails & Ties

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Critics Consensus

Despite the strong cast, Rails & Ties is an emotionally overwrought, not entirely believable melodrama.

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Critics Reviews

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Christy Lemire Associated Press Jan 2, 2008
It's hard to get over the implausibility of the premise in Micky Levy's script, even though the characters themselves acknowledge that they're in a ridiculous situation. Go to Full Review Richard Roeper Ebert & Roeper Nov 12, 2007
There's just not much here to recommend at all. Go to Full Review Ruthe Stein San Francisco Chronicle Nov 9, 2007
1/4
One highly unlikely circumstance after another become laughable, preventing you from being moved by the family tragedies depicted. They beg for tears, but a script this chock-full of holes is unlikely to elicit the desired effect. Go to Full Review Martin Tsai New York Sun Apr 21, 2023
Unfortunately, here you get a Lifetime original movie with a bigger budget. Go to Full Review Kelly Vance East Bay Express Apr 28, 2011
In common with her famous actor/filmmaker father, Ms. Eastwood seems to have an instinctual grasp of the petty grievances and triumphs of working-class American life. Go to Full Review Ryan Cracknell Movie Views Jun 28, 2008
Feels so forced and determined to convey a certain emotion that its authenticity is lost. And when there's no sense of authenticity, there's no emotional attachment. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Stephen C @bob25009 Jul 23, 2025 The worldwide gross is $22,136.00. Rated PG-13 for Brief Nudity, An Accident Scene, Mature Thematic Elements and Momentary Strong Language. See more Jul 30, 2015 A bit depressing and confusing not too bad though See more Jan 9, 2015 To lose one mother may be regarded as a misfortune See more Jan 6, 2014 From the very start of the movie you know exactly where it's going to end up and the journey up to that point isn't really that interesting. See more Jul 12, 2013 One star for the acting. See more Jun 6, 2013 If not for the powerful performances from Bacon and Harden I don't think I would have made it through this. An okay movie with an interesting premise that came together pretty believably considering. Lagged a bit in the middle with the ending leaving it up to you to decide what happened next. 06.13 "Poignant tale of a train engineer who has to deal with a professional tragedy while trying to care for his cancer-stricken wife, faltering marriage and a new and unexpected member of the family." See more Read all reviews
Rails & Ties

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Cast & Crew

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Alison Eastwood

Director

Kevin Bacon

Tom Stark

Marcia Gay Harden

Megan Stark

Miles Heizer

Davey Danner

Marin Hinkle

Renee

Eugene Byrd

Otis Higgs

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Movie Info

Synopsis Engineer Tom Stark (Kevin Bacon) kills a suicidal woman when his train slams into her car. Suspended from his job, he must confront his wife Megan's (Marcia Gay Harden) illness finally, but Megan announces she is going to leave him. Unexpectedly, the son (Miles Heizer) of the dead woman, arrives on the couple's doorstep and moves in with them.
Director
Alison Eastwood
Producer
Robert Lorenz, Peer J. Oppenheimer, Barrett Stuart
Screenwriter
Micky Levy
Distributor
Warner Independent
Production Co
Malpaso Company
Rating
PG-13 (Brief Nudity|An Accident Scene|Mature Thematic Elements|Momentary Strong Language)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 26, 2007, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 31, 2009
Box Office (Gross USA)
$21.4K
Runtime
1h 41m
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