The Shunning (2011)

It's been awhile since I read the book, but the translation to movie didn't quite work for me.There were a number of things that felt wrong. For starters, the actress playing the main character, Katie Lapp, had makeup on in every scene. A lot of makeup. Amish don't wear makeup, and I even noticed some of it on her mother. This bugged the crap out of me, like they weren't willing to make their main actress look just a little 'less pretty' (in their eyes) to maintain authenticity.Plus, I felt the actor for Daniel Fischer was much too young and didn't quite fit the picture in my head. Ah well, that happens though.They rushed through the shunning scene much too quickly, as well. A pivotal scene in that book/movie, they should have shown it how it actually was (if I remember correctly, in front of the whole congregation).I still enjoyed the movie, but overall the level of acting and the little details like makeup (and flawless hair for Katie Lapp) just didn't do it for me.

I was looking forward to this, as I tend to enjoy Hallmark movies, but this was just God awful! I couldn't get past the bizarre accents, which kept changing, English, German, even some French. WTH? They couldn't hire a dialogue coach? It was extremely distracting. The acting, too, was pretty bad, aside for Danielle Panabaker as Katie. Sandra W. Van Natta, as the mother, was almost painful to watch! Even Sherry Stringfield seemed to be phoning it in. The plot holes made Swiss cheese seem whole and solid. People here have alluded to the book/series. It would have been nice if they'd mentioned which book/series and the name of the author. I think I might have found it but I'm not sure.http://www.beverlylewis.com/ It appears that Hallmark/Lifetime wanted to tell a story using specific incidents but made no effort to tie them together cogently. All in all, it seemed pretty slapdash, was a waste of my time and a disappointment.

Life among the Amish is depicted in this 2011 film. An Amish family loses their baby in the hospital at childbirth, and takes the illegitimate daughter of a 16 year old as their own. They bring the baby back to Lancaster County and everyone is led to believe that this is their child.Fast forward 20 years later and the child, now a young lady, is engaged to marry a widower with two sons. It is at this point that the real mother, who is terminally ill, suddenly shows up to see the daughter she gave up years before.While this is a very good movie, I have two questions to pose. The young man who died early and was the boyfriend of Katie, our young girl, was he Amish or not? Secondly, how about shunning the parents for not telling Katie that she was adopted.The picture, as stated, is a good one as it reflects the differences among the Amish in an ever changing world and their refusal to accept the modern world. We see a crack at the end.While Katie goes off to see her real mother,will she really ever return to her Amish parents, or how can they keep them down on the farm after they've seen Paris? We wonder as the film ends.

Just wanted to give a shout out to the southerners out there who were involved in the Shunning. What a marvelous job on the project and a great thing we can sit down and watch as a family. I hope there will be more like the Janette Oke (sp?) movies that were outstanding! This hallmark movies is one of my favorites. The characters were genuine and real and wonderfully acted. Also, what a great setting! Winston-Salem had a beautiful back drop for the story. There has been rumors of doing more Shunning movies and I hope you choose to come back to the state of NC to film. You are more than welcome! Well done actors, stage production, producers, directors, and everyone involved. BRAVO!