Picture: Blue Fox Entertainment
Brian Cox (Succession) headlines the small film that was first released in theaters in June 2023, following multiple film festival appearances. The movie has been available on VOD platforms for quite some time but will soon be making its SVOD (streaming video on demand) debut via Netflix in the United States on March 23rd, 2024.
Cox stars alongside Sinqua Walls (Once Upon a Time, Power), Perry Mattfeld (In the Dark), Patricia Heaton (Everybody Loves Raymond), and Wes Studi (Dances with Wolves). It was released by the small movie distributor Blue Fox Entertainment, best known for films like The Inventor, Summer ’03, The Bouncer, Killerman, and The Railway Children.
Per the distributor, here’s what you can expect from the film directed by Joshua Caldwell and written by Stephen Camelio:
“John Colter, a wounded veteran, returns to the States still carrying the demons of war, hauntingly disturbed by the everyday expectations of friendships and love interests. In Livingston, Montana, he meets Ike, a surly, headstrong fly-fisherman more than twice his age, and Lucy, a talented photographer turned librarian who reads aloud to veterans, both damaged in their own way. While getting treatment for his wounds, both physical and psychological, Colter wants only to re-enlist, to have something to die for. But the real challenge is finding something to live for”
While not plentiful, critic reviews are glowing, with the movie holding an 80% score on RottenTomatoes at the time of publishing. Eddie Harrison for Film Authority said, “Mending the Line is a careful, thoughtful look at the effects of PTSD that also manages to make wider points about how we heal.”
We also particularly liked Charles Koplinksi’s review for Reel Talk, which concluded, “Quiet and genuine, the film’s prescription for what ails you is applicable to a great many ailments, making it a movie well worth seeking out.”
Here are a few tidbits to segue into some other topics on SVOD debuts recently and some other recommendations to tide you over. If you need more Brian Cox goodness, the brilliant horror movie The Autopsy of Jane Doe is now streaming in the US, where he stars alongside Emile Hirsch and Ophelia Lovibond.
This is one of several SVOD debuts Netflix US has had lately, with more coming down the line. Most recently, we saw the indie movie Your Lucky Day debut on Netflix US, which has been doing well in the top 10s since its launch. Also debuting for the first time on streaming via Netflix in late March 2024 includes the A24 movie When You Finish Saving the World and the Sony horror-comedy movie There’s Something in the Barn. They arrive on March 28th and March 20th, respectively.
Picture: Blue Fox Entertainment
Will you be checking out Mending the Line on Netflix? Let us know in the comments down below.