Definitely Watch the Series, but pass on the Movie

The 38 episodes of I'll Fly Away are simply some of the finest television writing, acting and storytelling I have ever seen. The two hour movie I'll Fly Away Then and Now is quite different than the series, both in quality and in depth. To be honest, the movie is not really needed. Yes, the series ends before its time, yet we are left with the strong sense that that "change is in motion", both in outward events and in the lives of the characters. Why should you pass on watching the movie? Well for one, the movie is preachy, obvious and self-conscious -- qualities that the television series never exhibited. Also the movie tries to squeeze the events of half a season or more into only two hours. In the television series, the events portrayed were always happening within the context of both families and communities. In the movie, which flashes back to 15-16 months after the last television episode, the characters are almost isolated unto themselves. The major action focuses on Lily and Forest, with Lily's Dad and Forest's son Nathan getting the secondary action. Nathan's role is affected by the fact that the actor who played his character was not available for the movie, so they used his twin brother. Does he look like Nathan - yes, but looking like and acting like are two different things. Essential supporting characters, like Coach and Joe Clay (whose role gained major importance in the last 4-5 episodes) have simply disappeared. They are nowhere to be seen and are not even mentioned. The main dramatic incident in the movie would normally have been dealt with in 4-5 episodes of the series, instead of in a single hour. Much of the movie has a sense of the story being speeded up and of drama without the depth of the original series. On a scale of 1 to 10, I give the series a rating of 10 and the movie a rating of 4 or 5.