The Hi-Line (1999)

Premiering at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, this first-time feature from writer-director Ron Judkins tells the story of Vera Johnson (Rachael Leigh Cook), a young woman wanting a better life than her small town surroundings in Montana. The catalyst of the story is Sam Polvino (Ryan Alosio), a 32-year-old liquor salesman from Chicago. However, Sam has some secrets he's not sharing. He poses as a representative of a local mall in order to meet Vera, and along with promising to give her a job, he also gives her the ashes of the late Ray Boone. It turns out Ray Boone was Vera's real father; Vera's parents Clyde and Laura (Stuart Margolin and Margot Kidder) admit the truth and tell her she was adopted, sending Vera off with Sam to find Estelle Smith, the bearer of the ashes. Sam's and Vera's trek through the Hi-Line of Montana reveals a lot about who they really are and forces them to re-examine their identities and free themselves from their past. Their relationship ranges from intrigue to protection and romance. These lessons will allow Vera to make her own dreams come true.