The Long Island Incident (1998) (TV)

Director:

Joseph Sargent

Writer (WGA):

Maria Nation (written by)

Release Date:

3 May 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

On December 7, 1993, a gunman opened fire in a crowded commuter train on Long Island. This fact-based...

Plot Keywords:

Based On True Story

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Laurie Metcalf	...	Carolyn McCarthy
Mackenzie Astin	...	Kevin McCarthy
Peter MacNeill	...	Dennie McCarthy
Tyrone Benskin	...	Colin Ferguson
Elisa Moolecherry	...	Natalie Berger
Cedric Smith	...	Tim Bobek
Lawrence Dane	...	Tommy
Diane D'Aquila	...	Dr. Ellen Lipsky
Nancy Beatty	...	Jean McBride
John Boylan	...	Frank McBride
Greg Ellwand	...	Bob Leahy
Sandy Crawley	...	Dan Frisa
Bill Lake	...	Bill Leffert
Peter Mensah	...	Hugh
Martin Doyle	...	Leonard Marshall

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Barwood Films

Trivia:

Carolyn McCarthy has a cameo during the sentencing scene of Colin Ferguson. She is seen right before the actor portraying Kevin McCarthy addresses Mr. Ferguson.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The 1996 Congressional election in which she ran against Dan Frisa was never considered to be a close one, like the movie suggests. All the polls had McCarthy up by a substantial margin and it was clear in October that she would win. She won 58% to Frisa's 40%.

Points for being a true story

This is pretty standard superclean TV drama about the shootings of 6 people by Jamaican immigrant Colin Ferguson in a New York train.

The lead actress is very convincing as the mother who lost a husband, almost lost a son, and ran (successfully) for Congress.

The man who played Colin Ferguson was also convincing.

This is a true story and, although the subject matter is about "gun control", it is really a movie about how a family deals with tragedy. And it's a true story (not "inspired" or "based" on a true story--it IS a true story), and I learned a bit about Washington politics, gun laws, media, and the strength of what one person can do to turn tragedy into moral victory. I also thought this movie would be propagandistic, but I felt it did not vilify gun-owners at all. It depends on how you view it. Even in the movie, Carolyn McCarthy shouts that the gun bill is "not about home protection, it's about gun violence", and she says it would not prohibit someone from defending their home with a gun. But if you think a 15 round semiauto is necessary for home defense, you might think this film is propaganda.

My only disappointment was that they didn't show the actual shootings. I thought it was going to be brought up as a "flashback" sequence. Why hide the action? This film was all drama. Maybe to avoid being called "propaganda" by using gratuitous violence?

6 points. Hey, it's better than most mega-produced movie crap out there.