Mending the Line

The drama captures the way two wounded warriors from opposite worlds can overcome trauma, find comfort in nature and, potentially, mend themselves.

[It] has a rote TV-movie look and a few bland and rambling passages. But it delivers a truth about those who have served, about the reality of the demons that can linger in them, that’s tough and moving.

The movie is worth a look for its lovely and magical fly-fishing sequences and stirring Big Sky vistas (shout out to cinematographer Eve Cohen), as well as its strong cast...

The middling material is often elevated by the performances.

Through its setting and performances, “Mend the Line” has just enough going for it to recommend it.

Heedfully directed by Joshua Caldwell, this is a sincere attempt to understand the psychological torment experienced by so many combat veterans.

This is a heart-touching film about veterans helping veterans.

Over and over, the decision to repeatedly linger in the moment feels like it’s being made out of caution rather than actual effectiveness.

These two men [Brian Cox & Sinqua Walls] from different generations and different backgrounds still develop a warm friendship that really centers the film. The story of fly-fishing and trout-fishing plays as beautiful metaphor for life.

It may be formulaic and slow, but this mentor-student drama is rarely dull thanks to fine performances and languid pacing that lets us find the meditative rhythms of fly fishing itself.