Saint Ralph is an inspiring and comical tale of fourteen year old Ralph Walker (Adam Butcher). Growing up in the innocent 1950s of post-WWII Canada, Ralph has grown up in the shadow of a deceased war hero dad. He is a precocious charmer, not particularly ambitious about his schoolwork, and frequently the focus of school pranks. In his small hometown, everyone knows about Ralph’s homelife–they know his dad was a hero, his mother (Shauna MacDonald) has been in the hospital for years being treated for cancer, and he lives with his grandparents, or at least, stays at their house and that’s all anyone cared to know.
The headmaster of Ralph’s school, Father Fitzpatrick(Gordon Pinsent), makes the perfect bad guy. He is an old curmudgeon determined to break Ralph’s spirit. Ralph frequently finds himself in the headmaster’s office, responding to the older man’s rigid statements with unshakeable optimism and confidence in himself.
Two crises in Ralph’s life happen to shape the story: one, he has an embarrassing moment at the community pool. It is sort of a ’scarlet letter issue’ meant to shame Ralph. It is brought up by nearly everyone Ralph encounters for the rest of the film. The event and people’s failure to ‘let it go’ would devastate a more sensitive child, but not Ralph. Fitzpatrick requires Ralph to join the running team to deal with his excess energy. Ralph begrudgingly complies. Father Hibbert (Campbell Scott), the running coach, is not impressed with Ralph’s athletics, but he is much less reluctant to give up on the boy altogether.
The second crisis is far more grave and does impact Ralph forever: his mother slips into a coma. Ordinary touching, talking, or other efforts cannot wake her, as Nurse Alice (Jennifer Tilly) tells Ralph again and again. Fitzpatrick does some investigating and realizes Ralph could be sent to a state orphanage should his mother die–there are no grandparents to be found. A classmate, Chester (Michael Kanev), had been forging all of Ralph’s report cards and notes home for years.
Ralph, meanwhile, is scared straight and more attentive in school. In one particular class, he learns about miracles and employs some logical reasoning:
- Miracles make the impossible happen.
- It would take a miracle for his mother to wake up.
- A boy winning the Boston Marathon would be a miracle.
- Therefore, Ralph is going to train for the Boston Marathon of 1954 in order to wake his mother up.
Ralph tells everyone about his goal; he is frequently met with initial skepticism. Ralph is seen training and preparing though, and the people around him have a change of heart. Ralph has dogged determination and a sense of purpose his life never had before, and it inspires them all. Except Fitzpatrick, of course. Fitzpatrick tells Ralph repeatedly he will not be able to skip school to make the run, he will be expelled for trying, and most importantly, there is nothing Ralph can do to change what’s happening to his mother. He has to grow up and accept limitations. Ralph doesn’t listen and goes to Boston, aware of all the risks but knowing he has to go for it anyway.
I won’t spoil the ending about Ralph’s performance or his mother, just conclude that the ending is very good. Ralph’s story is a smalltown allegory to Joan of Arc’s. Naive optimism is a part of any child’s youth, but it becomes miraculous when it expands the realms of possibility for other people. If you take nothing else away from this great coming of age story, there is that great theme.
This film was written and directed by Toronto’s Michael McGowan. His current project is One Week. Previous projects he wrote and produced include Henry’s World and My Dog Vincent. More information is available at the movie indexes and by using search engines online.
