''The Broken Cord'' is a 1992 drama

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

which aired on ABC. The film was directed by

Ken Olin Kenneth Edward Olin (born July 30, 1954) is an American actor, television director, and producer. He is known for his role as Michael Steadman in the ABC drama series ''Thirtysomething'' (1987–1991), for which he received a Golden Globe Award ...

in his film directorial debut. It was adapted from the 1989 book of the same name by Michael Dorris. Both the book and the film are based on Dorris' life raising his special needs son.

Plot summary

A young

Lakota Lakota may refer to: * Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language, the language of the Lakota peoples Place names In the United States: * Lakota, Iowa * Lakota, North Dakota, seat of Nelson County * La ...

boy named Adam ( Michael Spears) is adopted by 26 year old David Norwell. Norwell is told that Adam might have mental retardation, but Norwell thinks that the boy will succeed in a loving environment. He has to deal with the issues of raising a special needs child, such as having to take care of a child that has everything from toilet training trouble to

seizure An epileptic seizure, informally known as a seizure, is a period of symptoms due to abnormally excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain. Outward effects vary from uncontrolled shaking movements involving much of the body with l ...

s. After the discovery of a lesion in Adam's brain, it is later realized that Adam does not have a learning disability as earlier believed, but rather fetal alcohol syndrome.

Production

Jimmy Smits Jimmy L. Smits (born July 9, 1955) is an American actor. He is best known for playing attorney Victor Sifuentes on the 1980s-1990s legal drama '' L.A. Law'', NYPD Detective Bobby Simone on the 1990s-2000s police drama ''NYPD Blue'', Matt Santos ...

was asked to portray Dorris, with the character name of David Norwell, in 1989 which was shortly after the book was released. The actor said that he read the book in one night. Shortly after the book's release, 36 producers were interested in securing film rights to the book. The author did not want the film to be seen "as a disease-of-the-week movie". A television film was chosen over a theatrical film so that more people would experience the danger of drinking alcohol while pregnant. Smits' became emotional over his performance as David Norwell. Reynold Abel, on whom the character Adam was based, was struck and killed by a car at age 23 before the film's release in September 1991.

Reception

John J. O'Connor, writing for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', said, "Going against the television-movie grain, ''The Broken Cord'' provides no comforting payoff. The real Adam died last year after he was hit by a car. This is a story of profound anguish. It is also, however, a story of courage and powerful love on the part of both father and son." Ken Tucker of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

'' wrote, "Adam (Reynold Abel in real life) died last year, only 23 years old, hit by a car; flawed as it is, TV’s ''The Broken Cord'' is a heartfelt testament to his life."

References

External links

IMDb
{{DEFAULTSORT:Broken Cord American drama television films 1992 television films 1992 films 1990s American films Films about disability