Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing & Charm School

★ ★ ★ ★ There is something about Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing & Charm School that audiences will find enchanting. The script is quite good, but not overwhelming. The acting very solid, but maybe not as good as I would have expected from Robert Carlyle, John Goodman, Mary Steenburgen, Marisa Tomei and plenty of other all-stars. And cinematography was used in some interesting ways to delineate three different periods, which provided perspective, but was hardly revolutionary.

But the beauty of the movie is really none of these. Robert Carlyle plays Frank Keane, a baker (from a long line of bakers in the family business) recovering from the tragic loss of his wife. One day while driving he encounters a car wreck, and begins to talk to the mortally wounded driver, Steve (John Goodman). What unfolds is the interweaving of stories—Steve’s experience as a 12-year-old in the Marilyn Hotchkiss School, and Frank’s as he fulfills a promise to the dying Steve.

What emerges, rather remarkably, is a story filled with tragedy that nevertheless manages to be warm, light-hearted, nostalgic, funny and inspiring. Carlyle seems an unlikely protagonist, but his character gradually blossoms into someone that is quietly heroic, as his encounter with Goodman takes him on a path of exploration, self-discovery and love. Director Randall Miller has done a remarkable job of telling a story filled with meaningful insight and compassionate charm. I flat out loved this movie, as did the rest of the audience at Sundance.