Return to Zero (film)

Return to Zero
DVD cover
Directed by	Sean Hanish
Produced by	Sean Hanish Paul Jaconi-Biery
Written by	Sean Hanish
Starring	Minnie Driver Paul Adelstein Alfred Molina Connie Nielsen Andrea Anders Kathy Baker Sarah Jones
Music by	James T. Sale
Cinematography	Harris Charalambous
Edited by	Anita Brandt-Burgoyne
Production company	Cannonball Productions
Release dates	March 8, 2014 (2014-03-08)
Country	United States
Language	English

Return to Zero is a drama written and directed by Sean Hanish and stars Minnie Driver, Paul Adelstein, Alfred Molina, Connie Nielsen, Andrea Anders, Kathy Baker, and Sarah Jones with Peter Jason. The film was first shown at the Cinequest Film Festival on March 8, 2014, then had an international premiere on the Lifetime Network on May 17, 2014. It was the first Lifetime original to receive a simultaneous international release.^[1]

Plot

Return to Zero is based on a true story, where a successful couple named Aaron and Maggie are expecting their first child to come, but their life gets devastated as they find that their child is dead in mother's womb.^[2][3] The film is based on the experiences of its writer, Sean Hanish, and his wife.^[4] Driver and Adelstein co-wrote and performed the film's title song.^[5]

Reception

Matt Roush of TV Guide called Return to Zero, "A delicately etched and intimately powerful portrait of grief and bitter loss Return To Zero stars a fearless Minnie Driver and the ever-affable Paul Adelstein as a couple rocked to their emotional core by the loss of their unborn child, discovered to have died in the womb shortly before the delivery date. We follow them through the wrenching procedure and recovery process with a stark realism in which husband and wife are often seen at their worst, as their once-solid relationship frays when Maggie plummets into depression and neither seem able to say or do the right things to be able to heal and move on. Though sometimes hard to watch, Zero is a compelling and beautifully acted character study that will make you care as it dramatizes a domestic tragedy with a minimum of melodrama, so rare for TV and TV-movies." ^[6]

Robert Bianco of USA Today wrote, "Minnie Driver and Paul Adelstein give first-rate performances in this lovely, moving film about a couple whose marriage falters when their baby is stillborn… It's a subject worthy of education and one that seldom gets dealt with on television." ^[7]

Brian Lowry of Variety called Return to Zero "a painful portrait of devastating loss, pivoting on a performance by Minnie Driver that acutely captures those raw feelings." He also wrote, "Hanish deftly zeroes in on how all the preparation and enthusiasm surrounding a new baby magnifies the enormity of the parents’ pain here — as well as the different ways people cope, or don’t, with such events."^[8]

Minnie Driver was nominated for the award for Best Actress in a Movie or Miniseries at the 4th Critics' Choice Television Awards^[9] (the award was won by Jessica Lange for American Horror Story: Coven^[10]) and for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie.^[11]

CrowdSourcing

During post-production, additional monies that were needed to complete this film were identified. Sean Hanish turned to Kickstarter to raise the additional funds to cover music, post-production sound and color-correction. This Crowdsourcing effort was successful and raised more than the requested amount.^[12] Minnie Driver stated on the CBS Sunday Morning show (June 8, 2014) that more than 700 families of stillborn children contributed to this CrowdSourcing effort.

Awards and Nominations

Return To Zero was awarded a 2014 Satellite Award for Best Motion Picture Made For Television.^[13] Writer/Director Sean Hanish was also nominated for a WGA Award for his screenplay.^[14]

For her performance in Return Zero, Minnie Driver was a 2014 Emmy nominee for Outstanding Lead Actress In A Miniseries Or A Movie^[15] and was also nominated for a 2014 Satellite Award.^[13] Return to Zero won the Satellite Award for Best Miniseries or Television Film.

References

External links

• Return to Zero at the Internet Movie Database