Interesting but too many plots bring this film down. We have a teacher who is pressured to pass a miserable child so that they can get him out of the school despite the fact that the brat assaulted the teacher. The teacher (Aidan Quinn) has a wife who has left him, apparently suffering from depression and has gone to her sister in Denver. There are 2 young polite boys from the marriage who eventually find an old lady dead in her apartment. They deliver the paper to her and never bother to report that the woman, who lost her son in Korea, has died. The boys get caught up with that miserable student, who has bigoted parents.

If this isn't enough, we have America Fererra, who has been abandoned by her mother when it is determined that she is pregnant. She goes to live with 2 older gentlemen who have kept to themselves following the deaths of their parents. They are recommended by the teacher in the next room who has romantic visions on Quinn. The school secretary also has an eye on this man.

Yes, the movie is interesting but the themes abound. Each character could have developed into a story by itself. Was the teacher motivating the student? The pressure that teachers are faced with to pass students according to their supervisors is another theme. The depression of the mother. The life of the old woman (Marion Seldes) and the 2 older gentlemen who find they can contribute to life. I could go on and on.

"Plainsong" is a touching story about how people you would least likely suspect can help you at the time you need it most. Tom just had his wife leave him and his two boys. If that's not enough, he has to deal with a delinquent student assaulting him and then being forced to pass the kid. His boys, feeling weighted by their mother, look for attention in the form of an old lady and two brothers who live all by themselves. Meanwhile, Victoria is saddled with a baby sired by a boy who refuses to take responsibility for his actions. She gets help from a teacher at school, who is also Tom's love interest. Everyone comes together with two old brothers who live all alone when they all find a way to help everyone else and put their own problems aside.

Content Description Sex: Sex between teens is implied when a girl becomes pregnant. Language: None Violence: A few mild fist fights. Drugs: None Nudity: None James Welch Henderson, Arkansas 3/19/2021

This is a gentle, low key story about a pregnant 17 year old girl whose mother rejects her, and the people who rise to the occasion and care for her. It's very well cast with America Ferrera (the young actress from "Real Women Have Curves) as the girl, Aidan Quinn and Rachel Griffiths as the high school teachers and Megan Follows (Anne Shirley from the wonderful Sullivan Films production of "Anne of Green Gables") as Quinn's wife. It was lovely to see Marion Seldes on screen again too. The story is predictable, but the writing and acting is lovely. If you like gentle dramas and very real characters, this made for TV (Hallmark Hall of Fame) movie will be worth your time.