Walking Across Egypt


Genre: Drama, Comedy
Released: December 17, 1999
Rated: PG-13 (USA), 12 (UK)
US TV Title: Leading with her Heart
Director: Arthur Allan Seidelman
Mark's Role: Lamar N. Benfield
Also starring: Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Ellen Burstyn, Gwen Verdon

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Mattie Rigsbee lives alone after the death of her husband, wishing more to be reunited with him every day. Lamar Benfield is a dogcatcher, a gentle man unaccustomed to company. Wesley is his nephew and the only member of his family he has more or less regular contact with; unfortunately, the boy is a problem child. Let down by his parents at an early age, he has become a criminal, ending up in a youth detention center.

A string of coincidences, set off by a stray dog, brings them all together. When Wesley flees the youth detention center, Mattie is his first stop. Up until that moment, he saw her only as someone to exploit, but bit by bit she reaches his heart and manages to make him believe in life again. He is willing to make an effort, but circumstances and misunderstandings conspire against him.

In the end, Mattie and Lamar have to make a decision; a decision that will change their lives and Wesley's. To the better?