Love’s Christmas Journey (2011)

Natalie Hall is Ellie Davis, a young woman still mourning the loss of her husband and her young daughter Jessica.

They died in a tornado. Ellie watched it tear apart their family’s barn, helpless to do anything to save them.

Now Christmas is approaching, and Ellie is traveling to the town of Haddington to visit her brother Aaron (Greg Vaughan) and the two children he’s raising on his own since losing his wife.

Getting involved in the town’s Christmas preparations and watching over the children while Aaron travels to the county land office to purchase more land keeps Ellie’s mind off her own lost family.

At least for a while.

Then Aaron doesn’t return when promised. Then his son Christopher rides off to find him and gets lost.

And suddenly, Ellie senses that she’s watching fate tear apart yet another family.

She has a steady ally in deputy Michael Strode (Dylan Bruce). He promised to watch over the family while the sheriff was away. He finds watching over Ellie a most pleasing pastime.

Ellie also rediscovers hope and has another ally of the white-haired sort that she doesn’t even know about.

Natalie Hall as Ellie Davis, meeting her brother’s deputy, Michael Strode, for the first time in Love’s Christmas Journey (2011)

Dylan Bruce as Michael Strode, the deputy who falls for the sheriff’s sister in Love’s Christmas Journey (2011)

Review:

A heart-warming, two-part family film and a fitting conclusion to Hallmark’s 11-film “Love Comes Softly” saga.

With her lovely smile and earnest performance as a young woman still haunted by the loss of her husband and child, Natalie Hall is worthy of one star all on her own.

But she gets plenty of support here from a likeable cast, including better child actor performances than usual from Jada Pacer and Ryan Wynott as the sheriff’s children.

Ernest Borgnine is the white-haired gent who arrives in the nick of time to help their dad. He’d appear in just two more films before passing away in 2012 at age 95.

Here, his character is named Nicholaus. As in, St. Nick. Guess the Hallmark producers just couldn’t help themselves. Ditto for the presence of Charles Shaughnessy as the film’s Scrooge, a greedy attorney willing to kick folks off their land just before Christmas.

Ah, but by “Love” standards, the script is complex and action-packed. Multiple gunshots ring out. A character is actually shot and wounded! If you haven’t watched the films, trust me. That’s out of the ordinary for a “Love” film.

And part one ends with not one, not two, but three cliff-hangers.

Give the movie a chance and it’s likely to make you smile, even if you haven’t seen any of the other films in the series.

Greg Vaughan as Sheriff Aaron Davis, welcoming his grieving sister into his home in Love’s Christmas Journey (2011)

Ernest Borgnine as Nicholaus, nursing Aaron Davis back to health after he’s wounded by a thief in Love’s Christmas Journey (2011)

Directed by:
David S. Cass Sr.

Cast:
Natalie Hall … Ellie Davis
Greg Vaughan … Sheriff Aaron Davis
Dylan Bruce … Michael Strode
Bobby Campo … Erik Johnson
Ryan Wynott … Christopher Davis
Jada Facer … Annabelle Davis
Sean Astin … Mayor Wayne
Amanda Foreman … Adrienne Wayne
Annika Noelle … Suzanna Wayne
JoBeth Williams …. Mrs. Beatrice Thompson
Charles Shaughnessy … Alex Weaver
Ernest Borgnine … Nicholas
Dannika Liddell … Jessica King
Chad Michael Collins … Owen King
Stephen Bridgewater … Mr. Cunningham
Tom Virtue … Mr. Bersen
Teddy Vincent … Mrs. Price
Brian Thompson … Cass

Runtime: 171 min.

Ryan Wynott as Christopher Davis, the sheriff’s son in Love’s Christmas Journey (2011)

Jada Facer as Annabelle Davis, the sheriff’s daughter in Love’s Christmas Journey (2011)

Memorable lines:

Adrienne Wayne, trying to coach the kid’s for a Christmas play: “I shouldn’t have given in and let them have some of the candy canes.”
Ellie Davis: “Sugar and children is never a good mix.”
Adrienne: “It’ll take forever for the little angels to calm down.”
Ellie: “Little angels?”
Adrienne: “I can’t call them little devils this close to Christmas.”

Shopkeeper Beatrice Thompson as Ellie heads off to break into Alex Weaver’s office: “My dear, I am glued here until I see the outcome of this adventure. This is better than a dime novel.”

Alex Weaver, as the deputy shuts the jail cell door: “How long you gonna keep me in here?”
Deputy Michael Strode: “Til the circuit judge comes through.”
Weaver: “That’s not til February.”
Deputy Strode: “Merry Christmas. I’ll see that you get a turkey drumstick.”

Annabelle, when Christopher goes missing: “Don’t worry, Aunt Ellie. Papa told us that the angels watch over us.”

Natalie Hall as Ellie Davis, watching Haddington residents lose their Christmas spirit over a railroad in Love’s Christmas Journey (2011)

Bobby Campo as Erik Johnson, the outlaw’s son taken in by the Davis family and the young man who falls for the mayor’s daughter in Love’s Christmas Journey (2011)

Annika Noelle as Suzanna Wayne, the mayor’s daughter who falls for a young man her father doesn’t approve of in Love’s Christmas Journey (2011)

Sean Astin as Mayor Wayne, the man who blames himself for Haddington’s loss of Christmas spirit in Love’s Christmas Journey (2011)

Amanda Foreman as Adrienne Wayne, the mayor’s wife, recruiting children for a Christmas play in Love’s Christmas Journey (2011)

Charles Shaughnessy as Alex Weaver, an attorney planning to foreclose on properties along a proposed railroad route in Love’s Christmas Journey (2011)

JoBeth Willaims as Mrs. Beatrice Thompson, the shop owner whose advise Ellie Davis often relies on in Love’s Christmas Journey (2011)

Stephen Bridgewater as Mr. Cunningham, one of the businessmen counting on the railroad coming to Haddington in Love’s Christmas Journey (2011)

Dylan Bruce as Depiuty Michael Strode, coming to Ellie Davis’s defense in Love’s Christmas Journey (2011)

Natalie Hall as Ellie Davis, welcoming a deputy to the Davis family Christmas celebration in Love’s Christmas Journey (2011)