Wes Studi “Impressed” With Storytelling Behind ‘Mending The Line’

Mending the Line, directed by Joshua Caldwell and penned by Stephen Camelio, is a first rate drama that took me by surprise. I asked co-star Wes Studi about his reaction to the movie, and he was “impressed” by the narrative. The ensemble includes Brian Cox (Succession) , Sinqua Walls (White Men Can’t Jump), Patricia Heaton (Everybody Loves Raymond), and Irene Bedard (How to Blow Up A Pipeline). Studi talked about Mending The Line, the beauty of Montana and Santa Fe, and reflects on a couple of his underrated movies (Mystery Men, The Only Good Indian).

Mending The Line centers on John Cotler (Sinqua Walls), a wounded veteran who is rehabbing his injuries in Livingston, Montana. His doctor (Patricia Heaton) advises him to take up fly fishing with a fellow veteran named Ike (Brian Cox) as a form of self-healing. John complies, believing this is a faster ticket to get him back on duty.

Perry Mattfield plays a librarian who comes into John’s life due to a mutual bond (she was engaged to a military vet who passed). Wes Studi is Harrison, Ike’s best friend and the only person who seems to take Ike’s temperamental side in stride.

“I can relate to the main character’s storyline as well as Brian Cox’s character,” said Studi who served in The Vietnam War. “Perhaps more because we share, in a way, the Vietnam experience. My real self and his character. The opportunity to work with him, for one. He’s been a great actor forever, so it was great to work with him and steal all I could from him.”

Check out our review of Mending The Line on the latest episode of CinemAddicts:

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Both CinemAddicts co-host Eric Holmes and I loved Mending The Line. We both recommend the movie. More importantly, the picture has the stamp of approval from Studi.

“I was very impressed with everything about it,” said Studi. “The beauty of Montana and the harshness of Afghanistan. The work of the actors was superb. I found very few holes in the whole story. Usually you come away with discovering holes here and there with the script but this runs very smoothly and tells a good story in a good way. While you would think it was a total downer, there are some laughs in it as well.”

Mending The Line is now playing in theaters. For more info, check out its official website. Below is my full interview with Wes Studi.

Check out our Find Your Film interviews for Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert England Story and the Southern Fried Film Festival: