''Saint Ralph'' is a 2004 Canadian comedy-drama film written and directed by Michael McGowan. Its central character is a teenage boy who trains for the 1954 Boston Marathon in the hope a victory will be the miracle his mother needs to awaken from a coma. The film premiered at the

2004 Toronto International Film Festival The 29th Toronto International Film Festival ran from September 9 through September 18. The festival screened 328 films of which 253 were features and 75 were shorts (148 of the films screened were in a language other than English). Awards No fi ...

and was given a theatrical release in 2005.

Plot

Ralph Walker is a teenager attending a Catholic school in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

. His father was killed in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and his mother is hospitalized with an unidentified illness. Ralph is naturally prone to mischief and often finds himself an outcast among his classmates. He tries to emulate the conduct of grown ups, and is caught smoking cigarettes and masturbating by headmaster Father Fitzpatrick. Already labeled a troublemaker, Ralph is forced to join the school's cross country team to relieve him of his excess energy. When Ralph's mother falls into a coma, he is told it will take a miracle for her to survive. When running coach Father Hibbert, a former world class marathoner who was forced to quit running when he injured his knee, claims it would be a miracle if a member of his team won the Boston Marathon, Ralph decides to train for it in the hope his victory would fulfill the miracle needed to save his mother's life. At first, Ralph cannot even keep up with his teammates in practice. He reads books to learn about running, uses the new techniques, and gradually improves. Father Hibbert decides to train him despite disapproval from Father Fitzpatrick. Ralph begins to win the respect of his classmates, and eventually earns the attention of the local media when he wins a prestigious regional race. When Father Fitzpatrick learns Ralph intends to run the Boston Marathon, he threatens to expel him if he participates, as well as remove Father Hibbert from the priesthood should he try to interfere. Both Ralph and his mentor must then decide how deeply they believe in miracles, and what is possible when a person risks everything without promise of success. Both he and Father Hibbert defy Father Fitzpatrick and decide to go to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. Ralph ends up winning second place after a close race with the previous year's winner and gives the medal to his mother who wakes up from her coma.

Cast

* Adam Butcher as Ralph Walker *

Campbell Scott Campbell Scott (born July 19, 1961) is an American actor, producer and director. His roles include Steve Dunne in '' Singles'', Mark Usher in '' House of Cards'', Joseph Tobin in ''Damages'', and Richard Parker in '' The Amazing Spider-Man'' an ...

as George Hibbert *

Gordon Pinsent Gordon Edward Pinsent (born July 12, 1930) is a Canadian actor, writer, director, and singer. He is known for his roles in numerous productions, including ''Away from Her'', '' The Rowdyman'', '' John and the Missus'', ''A Gift to Last'', ''Due S ...

as Father Fitzpatrick *

Jennifer Tilly Jennifer Tilly (born Jennifer Ellen Chan; September 16, 1958) is an American–Canadian actress and poker player. Known for her distinctive voice and comedic timing, she has been nominated for an Academy Award, two MTV Movie Awards and three Sa ...

as Nurse Alice * Shauna MacDonald as Emma Walker *

Tamara Hope Tamara Lindeman (born November 2, 1984), also known by the name Tamara Hope, is a Canadian actress and musician. Her starring roles include ''Guinevere Jones'' and ''The Nickel Children'', as well as a recurring role on CTV's ''Whistler'' as Le ...

as Claire Collins * Michael Kanev as Chester Jones * Chris Ploszczansky as Hulk *

Jeff Baxter Jeffrey Allen "Skunk" Baxter (born December 13, 1948) is an American guitarist, known for his stints in the rock bands Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers during the 1970s and Spirit in the 1980s. More recently, he has worked as a defense cons ...

as Cattana * Daniel Karasik as Bolan

Production

The film was shot on location in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

, and

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

. The song "Hallelujah" by

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

is performed by

Gord Downie Gordon Edgar Downie (February 6, 1964 – October 17, 2017) was a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, musician, writer and activist. He was the singer and lyricist for the Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip, which he fronted from its form ...

. After premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival, the film was shown at the

Portland International Film Festival PAM CUT–Center for an Untold Tomorrow, formerly the ''Northwest Film Center'' is a regional media arts resource and service organization based in Portland, Oregon, United States that was founded to encourage the study, appreciation, and utilizat ...

, the Festival du Film d'Aventures de Valenciennes and the

Paris Film Festival The Festival du Film de Paris, also known as Paris Film Festival, was a film festival held annually in Paris, France. It was launched in 1986 as a youth-oriented festival. In 2002, the municipal government withdrew funding and began Festival Paris ...

before opening in Canada on April 8, 2005.

Critical reception

In his review in ''

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 ...

'', Stephen Holden said, "This crude, inspirational tear-jerker is as sweet as a bowl of instant oatmeal smothered in molasses." Sean Axmaker of the ''

Seattle Post-Intelligencer The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, United States. The newspaper was f ...

'' thought the "conventionally heartwarming underdog drama doesn't miss a cliche." He continued, "The climactic race footage is well directed... and the understated period detail adds to the charm, but the route is painfully familiar and the obstacles are as contrived as the clunky performances. The exception is Scott, whose sensitive turn as a priest inspired by Ralph's conviction and commitment gives the film a touch of grace at the cost of revealing McGowan's drab direction of every other actor. Yet there is something inherently rousing in the finale, no matter how hackneyed, as if his conviction ultimately holds its own against the cliches." In the ''

Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogra ...

'', Marrit Ingman rated the film two stars and called it "very conventional in its characterizations and narrative." He added, "The movie does have two things going for it (besides Tilly in a nurse’s uniform). One is its brisk, sunny aplomb. It zips right along in cheerful montages and abbreviated scenes, divided by intertitles announcing the feasts of saints. The second is Butcher, who seems to be something like the masculine

Amanda Bynes Amanda Laura Bynes (born April 3, 1986) is an American actress, known for her work in television and film throughout the 1990s and 2000s. Bynes began her career as a child actress, working on the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series ''All That'' ( ...

of Canada: goofy and authentically youthful but remarkably assured onscreen... The film isn't going to catapult Butcher to international stardom, but he holds his own in it and helps to sell its curious logic."

Award and nominations

Genie Award for Best Motion Picture The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television presents an annual award for Best Motion Picture to the best Canadian film of the year.Maria Topalovich, ''And the Genie Goes To...: Celebrating 50 Years of the Canadian Film Awards''. Stoddart Publishin ...

(nominee) *

Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television presents an annual award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role to the best performance by a lead actor in a Canadian film.Maria Topalovich, ''And the Genie Goes To...: Celebrating 50 Years o ...

(Adam Butcher, nominee) *

Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television presents an annual award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role to the best performance by a supporting actor in a Canadian film.Maria Topalovich, ''And the Genie Goes To...: Celebrating 5 ...

(Campbell Scott and Gordon Pinsent, nominees) * Genie Award for Best Achievement in Costume Design (Anne Dixon, nominee) * Canadian Screenwriting Award for Best Feature Film (Michael McGowan, winner)Writers Guild of Canada website
/ref> *Canadian Society of Cinematographers Award for Best Cinematography in a Theatrical Feature (Rene Ohashi, nominee) *

Directors Guild of Canada The Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) is a Canadian labour union representing more than 5,500 professionals from 48 different occupations in the Canadian film and television industry. Founded in 1962, the DGC represents directors, editors, assist ...

Award for Outstanding Achievement in Direction of a Feature Film (Michael McGowan, winner) *Directors Guild of Canada Award for Outstanding Team Achievement in a Family Feature Film (winner) *Directors Guild of Canada Award for Outstanding Achievement in Production Design for a Feature Film (Matthew Davies, nominee) *London Canadian Film Festival Audience Award (winner) *Paris Film Festival Grand Prix Award (winner) *

Young Artist Award The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...

for Best International Family Feature Film (winner) *Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film by a Leading Young Actor (Adam Butcher, nominee) *Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film by a Supporting Young Actor (Michael Kanev, nominee)

References

External links

* {{Michael McGowan 2004 films 2000s coming-of-age comedy-drama films 2000s sports comedy-drama films Canadian sports comedy-drama films Canadian coming-of-age comedy-drama films English-language Canadian films Boston Marathon Films shot in Hamilton, Ontario Films directed by Michael McGowan Films scored by Andrew Lockington Films set in 1954 2004 comedy films 2004 drama films Films set in Ontario Films set in Boston Films shot in Toronto 2000s English-language films 2000s Canadian films