The Miracle Season

The Miracle Season is a 2018 American sports drama film directed by Sean McNamara[2] and starring Erin Moriarty, Helen Hunt, William Hurt, and Danika Yarosh.[3] The film is based on the true story of the Iowa City West High School volleyball team[4] after the sudden death of the team's heart and leader, Caroline Found, in 2011.[5] It was released in the United States on April 6, 2018.[6] The film received mixed reviews from critics and has grossed $10 million worldwide.

The Miracle Season
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySean McNamara
Produced by
  • Mickey Liddell
  • Pete Shilaimon
  • Scott Holroyd
  • Mark Ciardi
Screenplay by
  • David Aaron Cohen
  • Elissa Matsueda
Story byDavid Aaron Cohen
Starring
Music byRoque Baños
CinematographyBrian Pearson
Edited byJeff Canavan
Production
company
Distributed byLD Entertainment
Release date
  • March 18, 2018 (2018-03-18) (Englert Theatre)
  • April 6, 2018 (2018-04-06) (United States)
Running time
99 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$10.2 million[1]

Plot

Caroline "Line" Found is the star volleyball player on the Iowa City West High School Volleyball Team and well-loved by members of the community. With Line as the captain, the Trojans have been undefeated and everyone has high hopes for West to win the championship again after the previous year, especially against their long-time rival, City High. During a party at her house, Line decides to secretly sneak away to visit her mother Ellyn at the hospital, where she is being treated for cancer. That night, Line herself is killed in a moped accident, leaving the entire community in mourning.

Despite the school and community still in shock over Line's death, the Trojans' coach, Kathy Bresnahan continues to hold volleyball practice. She directly approaches Line's best friend, Kelley, encouraging her to return because Line would have wanted them to continue. Kelley refuses, but Bresnahan persists until Kelley agrees. After it is revealed that the Trojans lost their most recent match due to forfeit, Kelley encourages the entire school that they need to continue for Line's sake.

West High struggles in practice and loses their first game badly, still discouraged from Line's death. Bresnahan begins to run the team through grueling drills until a teammate can serve to spot one. When Kelley succeeds, Bresnahan names her the new captain of the team. As the weeks go by, the team begins to win and becomes motivated to win the state championship for Line. Bresnahan informs the team they need to win all of their remaining games to be eligible for the state championship. The Trojans win their next fourteen games, giving them a chance to win the championship.

Before the state tournament begins, Kelley finds a gift from Line's father, Ernie, that encourages her not to play for Line or to win for her, but to "Live Like Line." At the state tournament, the Trojans win the quarter-final game with ease, but struggle to win their semi-final game. They move on to the championship, and have to go up against City High, who are heavily favored to win. City takes the lead early in the match, but West manages to tie the score and force the fifth and final game. The Trojans go on to win and capture the state championship again. As the crowd cheers, "Sweet Caroline" plays in honor of Line and Kelley holds Line's picture up high and proud.

Cast

Production

The film was originally titled Live Like Line.[8] William Hurt and Helen Hunt joined the film in June 2016; Hunt and McNamara previously worked together on the similarly-themed film Soul Surfer. Filming took place in Vancouver, Canada.[7]

Release

The Miracle Season premiered at the Englert Theatre in Iowa City, where the film is set, on March 18, 2018.[9] It was released by LD Entertainment on April 6, 2018.[10]

Home media

The film was released on DVD and Digital by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment on July 31, 2018.

Box office

In the United States and Canada, The Miracle Season was released alongside A Quiet Place, Chappaquiddick and Blockers, and as projected to gross around $3 million from 1,707 theaters in its opening weekend.[11] It ended up debuting to $4.1 million, finishing 11th; 74% of its audience was female.[12]

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 51% based on 43 reviews, and an average rating of 5.63/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Miracle Season has a worthy real-life story to tell, but one-dimensional characters and aggressively maudlin storytelling undercut any emotional uplift."[13] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 44 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[14] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[12]

References
  1. "The Miracle Season (2018)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  2. Hipes, Patrick (May 5, 2016). "Helen Hunt Reteams With 'Soul Surfer' Helmer For Sports Tale 'Live Like Line'". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  3. Busch, Anita (June 23, 2016). "Erin Moriarty, Danika Yarosh Team On Inspirational Sports Movie 'Live Like Line'". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  4. Berg, Zach (February 15, 2018). "West High volleyball coach hosts 'Miracle Season,' Caroline Found book release party in Iowa City". Iowa City Press Citizen. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  5. CBS2/FOX28 Staff (December 14, 2017). "Trailer for movie based on "Live Like Line" story released". CBS2/FOX28. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  6. "The Miracle Season". Moviefone. Oath. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  7. Busch, Anita (June 28, 2016). "William Hurt To Star Opposite Helen Hunt In 'Live Like Line'". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  8. Law, Jeannie (December 16, 2017). "Actress Helen Hunt to Star in Inspirational Film 'The Miracle Season'". The Christian Post. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  9. Berg, Zack (March 18, 2018). "Hollywood, Iowa City come together at 'The Miracle Season' hometown premiere". Iowa City Press-Citizen. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  10. "The Miracle Season". Movie Insider. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  11. Rubin, Rebecca (April 3, 2018). "'A Quiet Place' Looks to Make Noise at Weekend Box Office". Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  12. D'Alessandro, Anthony (April 8, 2018). "'A Quiet Place' Opens To $50M: How Paramount Turned Up The Volume On The John Krasinski-Emily Blunt Pic". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  13. "The Miracle Season (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  14. "The Miracle Season Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
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