Ithaca (2015)

With his older brother off to war, fourteen-year-old telegram messenger Homer Macauley comes of age in the summer of 1942.

Director:

Meg Ryan

Writers:

Erik Jendresen (screenplay by), William Saroyan (based on the novel "The Human Comedy")

Stars:

Alex Neustaedter, Meg Ryan, Sam Shepard

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alex Neustaedter	...	Homer Macauley
Meg Ryan	...	Mrs. Macauley
Sam Shepard	...	Willie Grogan
Hamish Linklater	...	Tom Spangler
Jack Quaid	...	Marcus Macauley
Tom Hanks	...	Matthew Macauley
Spencer Howell	...	Ulysses Macauley
Christine Nelson	...	Bess Macauley
Gabriel Basso	...	Tobey George
Lois Robbins	...	Mrs. Beaufrere
Lucia Scarano	...	Mrs. Sandoval
Molly Gordon	...	Mary Arena
Scott Shepherd	...	Mr. Corbett
James McCool	...	Lionel
Ethan Wasson	...	Auggie

Storyline

Fourteen-year-old Homer Macauley is determined to be the best and fastest bicycle telegraph messenger anyone has ever seen. His older brother has gone to war, leaving Homer to look after his widowed mother, his older sister and his 4-year-old brother, Ulysses. And so it is that as spring turns to summer, 1942, Homer Macauley delivers messages of love, hope, pain... and death... to the good people of Ithaca. And Homer Macauley will grapple with one message that will change him forever. Based on Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Saroyan's 1943 novel, The Human Comedy, ITHACA is a coming-of-age story about the exuberance of youth, the abruptness of change, the sweetness of life, the sting of death, and the sheer goodness that lives in each and every one of us.

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Plot Keywords:

birthday | birthday party | maid | reading a telegram | mirror | 

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Taglines:

One message will change everything

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic elements, a war image, and smoking

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jack Quaid, who plays Meg Ryan's son Marcus Macaulay, is her son in real life, from when she was married to Dennis Quaid.

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Goofs

There is no regard for historical women's hair styles. The movie is set in 1942, but none of the female characters have hair styles that would have been seen in that period.

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Quotes

Mrs. Macauley: There will always be pain in this world, Homer. And a good man will seek to take the pain out of things.

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Connections

Version of The Human Comedy (1943)

User Reviews

A plot that goes nowhere

This film tells the story of a fourteen year old boy, who takes up the job as a messenger to deliver telegraphs back in the dark times of the second world war.

The book might have been touching, but this film unfortunately does not work. The story does not seen to go anywhere. It doesn't develop the characters, and viewers don't understand why any of the characters are at the point that they are at. Why does the boy need to take up a job? Why does the older guy drink so much? What about the other messenger? The lack of background information makes me feel distant from the characters.

It takes forty minutes of screen time to deliver the second telegraph. That's way too long for a film about a boy delivering telegraphs. The film could have explored more on how the sad telegraphs affected him, so there's wasted opportunity. I watched the film for Tom Hanks, and I don't even recall him having said a word!

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 September 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ithaca

Filming Locations:

Virginia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Co-Op Entertainment, The Exchange, Apple Lane Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1