A Time of Destiny Reviews

It's been awhile since I last saw this one, but I used to own the video for
'A Time of Destiny' and watched the movie several times. It wasn't a very well-received film (its current IMDb score is only 4.8); I remember that even my mother (who started out liking the movie) grew bored with it and made us turn it off when my sister and I tried to watch it with her.

However, I kind of liked 'A Time of Destiny' myself (sue me). I guess it *is* sort of melodramatic -- but Timothy Hutton, as always, gives a great performance (he's VERY likable as "Jack", the war-buddy-turned-brother-in-law of William Hurt's "troubled" character, Marty) and the cast overall is solid.

It's an interesting cast, for sure; Hurt, Stockard Channing, Melissa Leo (she's Hurt's sister/Hutton's wife in the movie), and Megan "Anne Shirley" Follows all play siblings of one another! I do remember wondering about the wide age differences between those four characters when I first watched the movie (for example, Channing was born in 1944 and Follows in 1968. I know that their characters might have had a smaller age gap than the actresses -- and, even if they didn't, it isn't impossible that somebody born in '44 could have the same parents as somebody born in '68. Still, it was kind of odd to see those two playing "sisters"; that said, Channing, Follows, and the rest of the cast all work well together.)

Despite the negative reviews, I still recommend 'A Time of Destiny'. My video has long since disappeared (to wherever it and the rest of my VHS tapes ended up) but I'd watch the movie again if given the opportunity. It's always possible that my opinion *could* have changed since the last time that I watched it -- but based on my memories of seeing the film at least a few times when I owned the video, I'd rate 'A Time of Destiny' a solid three stars (6/10).