- Actors: John Travolta, Kate Bosworth, Devon Sawa, Gil Bellows, Julie Benz
- Director: David Hackl
- Film Format: NTSC, Widescreen
- Language: English
- Region: Region A/1
- Number of discs: 1
- Rated: R
- Studio: Lionsgate
- Release Date: February 7, 2017
- Run Time: 98 minutes
I can honestly
say that I never put much thought into the effort it takes to keep electricity
working, nor was I aware of the dangers faced by the lineman making necessary
repairs. If nothing else, Life on the
Line succeeded in waking me up to the realities about the dangers of a job
like that. Life on the Line serves as
a tribute to the brave men who risk danger each time there is a fallen line or
a repair is needed, but they deserve to be honored with a film that isn’t also
full of contrived melodrama and sub-par filmmaking.
We are told from
the beginning that the film is based on true events, but Life on the Line is also padded with an over-abundance of fictional
sub-plots. In the end, the reality of the dangers of a job as a lineman are
made clear by the film, but mostly Life
on the Line feels like fabricated scenarios attempting to force an
emotional response out of the audience. This begins with the very first scene
in which a careless lineman in Texas
named Beau (John Travolta) makes a mistake that results in the death of his
brother. As if this were not enough, the fallen lineman’s wife is killed in a
brutal car crash on the way to the hospital, leaving Beau as the only guardian
for his young niece, Bailey.
The film then
jumps forward in time to the point that Bailey (Kate Bosworth) is fully grown
and in her early to mid-20s, despite being played by an actress in her mid-30s.
Oddly enough, Beau doesn’t seem to have aged at all in the 15-year jump in the
narrative. This is the kind of incompetent filmmaking that destroys an
admirable homage that it was intended to be for fallen lineman. It doesn’t stop
there, unfortunately. In order to show the perils of being a lineman, Life on the Line employs every
unbelievable soap opera scenario it can think up, everything from cheating
spouses and violent ex-boyfriends to late-night intruders and unexpected
pregnancies. Some of these melodramatic moments don’t even include women in
peril.
Bailey is
struggling with her relationship to a man named Duncan (Devon Sawa), whose
decision to become a lineman does little to impress Beau. At the same time,
Bailey is aggressively pursued by another ex-boyfriend named Ron (Matt
Bellefleur), whose only purpose in this film is to force dramatic situations on
the protagonists, leading up to a ridiculous scenario that forces a lineman to
make the ultimate sacrifice. But the loose connection to the linemen and
electricity only comes after a series of ridiculous coincidences. First Bailey
makes friends with a new neighbor (Julie Benz) and her husband (Ryan Robbins),
who is preoccupied with suspicions of his wife’s infidelity.
Duncan makes an effort to win over Beau on
the job, after failing to impress his alcoholic mother (Sharon Stone) with his
life changes or the news that Bailey is pregnant. Beau doesn’t like Duncan, but this
inevitably changes when they are forced to work together during a massive power
outage that endangers many of the supporting characters. It is difficult to
believe any of this actually happened, no matter how believable the dangers of
the job may be.
The biggest
problem of the movie is the script, which shoves its purpose down the throat of
viewers, but that doesn’t excuse the many technical faults from scrutiny. There
is essentially only one large scale disaster sequence and it is full of poorly
rendered CGI fitting of this Canadian production. At least these shortcomings
are over quickly, whereas the atrocious fake beards worn by the cast must be
seen for the entire run time. And then there is the song the film is book-ended
with, called “On the Line,” which couldn’t be any more on-the-nose.
This song by
Fiona Culley and Darius Rucker is also featured in the Blu-ray extras with a
music video. The special features also include a behind-the-scenes featurette
with interviews from the cast and crew, as well as a trailer gallery. A Digital
HD copy of the film is also included.
Entertainment Value:
4/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 3.5/10
Historical
Significance: 2/10
Special Features: 3/10
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