''The Piano Man's Daughter'' is a 2003

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

, adapted from the 1995 novel of the same name by Timothy Findley. Rights to the novel's film adaptation were originally purchased by Whoopi Goldberg. Goldberg acquired the film rights after reading the novel while in Toronto starring in Norman Jewison’s film '' Bogus''. Deciding that as a Canadian novel it would be most appropriate to work with a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

film studio, Goldberg produced the film in collaboration with Canadian producer Kevin Sullivan's Sullivan Entertainment.

Plot

A young man must deal with several generations of madness and familial intrigue. Charlie Kilworth is a young man whose mother, Lily, is the daughter of Frederick Wyatt, the owner of a well-known piano manufacturing company. Lily is also a free-spirited and unstable woman, who bore Charlie out of wedlock, has had a number of lovers over the years, and has an unsettling fascination with fire. Lily's mother Ede has put her daughter in a mental hospital on several occasions, and is considering having Lily lobotomized. Charlie, meanwhile, has had affairs with a number of women but has never settled down with anyone; working as an events coordinator at a resort hotel, Charlie becomes infatuated with Alex Lamont, the singer in a dance band Charlie has booked into the ballroom. Lily urges her son to get married and raise a family, but Charlie isn't so sure he's ready for a lifetime commitment, and Alex becomes frustrated by Charlie's inability to take their relationship seriously. Meanwhile, Ede and Frederick have decided that Lily needs to be permanently committed to an institution; Charlie insists that they send her to a comfortable private facility, but then discovers that a mysterious benefactor has been supporting Lily for years, and Ede and Frederick have decided if Lily is to be in a private institution, then the generous stranger must be the one who pays for it.

Cast

* Wendy Crewson as Ede Kilworth * Christian Campbell as Charlie Kilworth ** Jeffrey Peel and McKenzie Sullivan as Charlie (8 yrs.) * Marnie McPhail as Young Lily Kilworth * R.H. Thomson as Frederick Wyatt * Sarah Strange as Alexandra Lamont * Susan Coyne as Ada Harrison *

Chris Wiggins Christopher John Wiggins (January 13, 1931 – February 19, 2017) was a Canadian actor. Career Wiggins was born January 13, 1931, in Blackpool, England. He started out as a banker in his home country before he began his acting career in Canada ...

as James Kilworth *Joel S. Keller as Neddy Harrison *Deborah Pollitt as Eleanor Ormond * David Hemblen as Dr. Warren *Nuala Fitzgerald as Eliza Kilworth * Dixie Seatle as Eleanor Hess *

Stockard Channing Stockard Channing (born Susan Antonia Williams Stockard; February 13, 1944) is an American actress. List of awards and nominations received by Stockard Channing, Her accolades include three Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and a nomination for an Acade ...

as Lily Kilworth * Robert Fusco as the baby

References

External links

*
Sullivanmovies.com
- Official Piano Man's Daughter Page {{DEFAULTSORT:Piano Man's Daughter English-language Canadian films Canadian drama television films 2003 drama films Films based on Canadian novels 2003 television films 2003 films Films directed by Kevin Sullivan 2000s English-language films 2000s Canadian films