Written by Michael Heaton Theme music composer Shawn Pierce Original language(s) English | Directed by Gary Yates Country of origin United States | |
Starring Teri Polo, Paul Essiembre, Ty Wood | ||
The Christmas Heart is a 2012 Hallmark Channel Christmas film directed by Gary Yates. The movie first released on the Hallmark Channel on December 2, 2012 and stars Teri Polo, Paul Essiembre, and Ty Wood. The film's premise follows a group of neighbors that come together to help provide emotional support for a teenage boy that needs a heart transplant.
Contents
Plot
When a teenage boy desperately needs a heart transplant on Christmas Eve, his family and neighbors' forty-year tradition of lining their quaint street with Christmas luminaries is put on hold. When his parents, Ann and Mike, pray for a donor on a stormy night, the neighbors suddenly realize their luminaries could have a deeper purpose.
Cast
Production
Heaton first began working on a treatment for The Christmas Heart around 2000 and pitched it to a Hollywood executive, but a film deal was never confirmed. His sister Patricia Heaton remembered the script Heaton had written and sent a copy of his treatment to Hallmark, who purchased the treatment and the script. Filming for The Christmas Heart took place in Winnipeg, Manitoba during March 2012. Due to the unseasonably warm weather in Winnipeg, the film crew had to make snow to make it look "like winter", but was also able to find "a snow bank in the parking lot of a church".
Reception
Critical reception was mixed to positive, and the Christian Film Database stated that they found the film "very touching". A reviewer for the Philadelphia Inquirer remarked that the film "[followed the] made-for-TV Christmas formula" and that it "would work better if we were a little more invested in young Matt and his survival", but that the ending was satisfying. The Akron Beacon Journal also commented that the film held "no surprises" but that "If you are willing to surrender to its unabashed sentimentality, you may find reason for a sniffle or two, and maybe a reason to smile at the end".