The Cokeville Miracle

The Cokeville Miracle
Theatrical film poster
Directed by	T. C. Christensen
Produced by	T. C. Christensen Ron Tanner
Written by	T. C. Christensen
Based on	Cokeville Elementary School hostage crisis
Starring	Jasen Wade Sarah Kent Kimball Stinger Nathan Stevens Kymberly Mellen
Music by	Christian Davis Rob Gardner
Cinematography	T. C. Christensen
Edited by	Tanner Christensen
Production company	Remember Films
Distributed by	Excel Entertainment Group
Release date	5 June 2015
Running time	94 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The Cokeville Miracle is a 2015 drama film written & directed by T. C. Christensen and starring Jasen Wade, Sarah Kent and Kimball Stinger. The film was based on the Cokeville Elementary School hostage crisis in 1986 ^[1] and the book The Cokeville Miracle: When Angels Intervene by Hartt Wixom and Judene Wixom. The film was released in select theaters across the United States in the summer of 2015, and distributed by Deseret Book Co. and affiliated retailers.

Plot

In May 1986, cop Ron Hartley (Jasen Wade) is at a crime scene, during which two people were murdered. He is traumatized from the experience and begins to question the beliefs of his religion.

In Tucson, Arizona, David Young (Nathan Stevens), former town marshal of Cokeville, Wyoming, tests a bomb he made on an old bus, which succeeds. He then expresses his triumph with his second wife, Doris (Kymberly Mellen). In Cokeville, Ron is playing with his two children; Cindy (Alexa Rae) and Jason (Kimball Stinger). When the family's nightly prayer comes, Ron refuses to say it, as he is questioning his faith due to all the horrible things he's seen. His wife Claudia (Sarah Kent) is worried for him.

On a Sunday, Ron does not attend his church with his family. Meanwhile, David is travelling with Doris, buying groceries as materials. He has his two friends Gerald Deppe and Doyle Mendenhall (Channon Voyce and Paul Hunt) meet him in Cokeville. David and Doris demonstrate igniting gunpowder while it is in the air, making it seem as if the air is on fire. Deppe and Mendenhall take the plot as launching illegal fireworks. The next day, the five set out for Cokeville Elementary School, where David reveals their real plan is to take the school hostage and blow it up with his bomb, which will then lead to David being the leader of a "brave new world". Deppe and Mendenhall refuse to cooperate, and David handcuffs them in the back of his van.

Ron, on the same day, travels to help his brother with some issues, while Cindy and Jason go to the school. During the past few days at the school, the fire alarms have been going off without any smoke or any other trigger, baffling the staff. David, Doris and Penny (Caitlin EJ Meyer), one of David's two daughters from his previous marriage, bring the bomb into the school, with Doris and Penny carrying firearms. Penny is reluctant to follow the plan. The three walk into the school undetected, and announce to their secretary, Christina Cook (Jillette Dayton), their plan. They take her hostage, and when David starts harshly yelling at a student, Penny confronts him. Instead of shooting her like he had earlier threatened, he gets his car keys and throws them at her, commanding her to leave, saying she is no daughter of his.

After Penny leaves, David and Doris take three people (two staff, one student) and take them into Room 4, where David takes control of a class in the room. Doris then manipulates the rest of the school to go into Room 4, telling them "a surprise" waits for them. After all 136 students and 18 teachers are in the room, David takes control by sitting next to the bomb, where if he pulls the trigger it will set it off, and with the firearms. After a few minutes, Max Excell (Alan Peterson), the principal, who had been away, walks in and discovers the situation. David tells him to call the local authorities and tell them he demands $2,000,000 for each child, and if he doesn't return in 15 minutes, he will shoot the students, one by one.

Penny travels to the local police station where she informs them of her father's plan, proving it by showing them Deppe and Mendenhall, still handcuffed. The police take the three for questioning, while they start informing the families. Ron begins to return to Cokeville, when he is informed of the hostage situation. He is still far out, but starts to rush towards Cokeville, as he is the nearest officer and every other one is out of town. In the school, gas from the bomb begins to leak, and children are getting sick. One of the teachers convinces David to let them open the doors and windows. After the principal returns, David demands him to call the White House.

After a few hours, including plans by the teachers to create a boundary between the bomb and the children, David is getting more and more agitated especially when Jason starts to taunt him. After Jason crosses the boundary around the bomb, David's emotions are let out, and he yells at Jason. While David is in the restroom, Doris has the trigger for the bomb, but accidentally triggers it after jerking her hand. The bomb explodes, and Doris suffers severe burns. The children are quickly evacuated as firefighters and paramedics are stationed right outside. David kills Doris to put her out of her misery, and shoots a teacher, John Miller (Joshua Cooper), in the back. Everyone safely evacuates, and David kills himself. Ron is informed of the bombing, and he expresses that God isn't real. He arrives in town, rushing towards the school.

A few days later, Jason and Cindy have both sustained burns, but are physically fine. Jason, however, seems traumatized and Ron takes him to see a psychologist. After the appointment, the doctor is baffled and tells Ron to have a talk with Jason. Ron and Claudia both talk to Jason, who then tells him "there were other people in the room". He confides in them that he saw angels. Ron doubts this, but Claudia believes him after he points out a picture of his great-grandmother, who passed away years earlier. Ron questions this, and Claudia convinces him to gather evidence.

He visits multiple families, who inform him of similar experiences. He visits the local bomb expert, Rich Haskell (Rick Macy), who tells him that 3 of the 5 wires in the bomb were mysteriously cut. Haskell also points out that the windows provided an opening for the explosion. He is baffled that shrapnel David put in the explosive flew around, but no one was injured. While Ron speaks with Claudia, he tells her he found out every one of the hostages prayed some time during the crisis, and that some ran back into the room to help others. Despite all this information, Ron is reluctant to believe it.

On Sunday, Jason refuses to attend church unless his dad does so as well. Motivated to attend for Jason, Ron tries to make it through the meetings. But after the main meeting, Ron's doubts start to control him again, and he tells Claudia that he can't do it. She tells him that he needs to control it, or he could lose her and their children. Ron then overhears some words the bishop, John Teichart (Shawn Stevens), is saying in a class, where he says that hatred will not be the answer, but prayer will. Ron then goes to the youth room, where they are singing "A Child's Prayer". He notices that almost all of the kids in the room have some injuries of some kind, and he becomes humble and asks God for forgiveness for doubting Him. Cindy and Jason notice him and run to him, and he asks them to forgive him. That night, at the family prayer, Ron is saying it for the first time in days.

Cast

• Jasen Wade as Ron Hartley, the film's protagonist, one of the town's deputies who is questioning his faith as his children are taken hostage.
• Sarah Kent as Claudia Hartley, Ron's wife, who is worried about his skepticism.
• Kimball Stinger as Jason Hartley, Ron and Claudia's son, who tells them about seeing an angel of a deceased ancestor.
• Alexa Rae as Cindy Hartley, Ron and Claudia's daughter.
• Nathan Stevens as David Young, the film's antagonist, the ex-town marshal who holds Cokeville Elementary hostage.
• Kymberly Mellen as Doris Young, David's second wife, who accompanies him on his devious plan, but treats the children with much kindness.
• Caitlin EJ Meyer as Penny Young, David's second daughter from his previous marriage, who refuses to participate in his evil plan.
• Paul Hunt and Channon Voyce as Doyle Mendenhall and Gerald Deppe, two of David Young's friends who also refuse to participate in holding helpless, little children hostage.
• Alan Peterson as Max Excell, the Principal of Cokeville Elementary.
• Jillette Dayton as Christina "Tina" Cook, the Secretary of Cokeville Elementary.
• Barta Heiner as Verlene Bennion, an elderly teacher at Cokeville Elementary who suffers from smoke inhalation after the bomb goes off.
• Liz Christensen as Pat Bennion, Verlene's daughter-in-law and one of the teachers at Cokeville Elementary.
• Joshua Cooper as John Miller, a music teacher who is shot by David Young after the bomb goes off.
• Rick Macy as Rich Haskell, Cokeville's local bomb expert.
• Shawn Stevens as John Teichert, the Bishop of Cokeville's local congregation.

Production

Written and directed by T. C. Christensen (The Work and the Glory, The Testaments, Only a Stonecutter, 17 Miracles, Ephraim's Rescue), and produced by Ron Tanner and Christensen, The Cokeville Miracle debuted on June 5, 2015 in select theaters in Utah, and then across the United States. The film was subsequently released on DVD and Blu-ray for distribution by Excel Entertainment Group through Deseret Book and affiliated retailers.

References

External links

• The Cokeville Miracle at Internet Movie Database