FAQ

When milk truck driver Charlie Roberts (John Churchill), distraught over the death of his newborn daughter, open fires on an Amish schoolhouse, killing five children and injuring five others in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, the Amish community astounds the world by forgiving the gunman and his wife Amy (Tammy Blanchard) even while they are grieving the deaths of their own children by his hand. That is, all except for Ida Graber (Kimberly Williams-Paisley), whose 14-year-old daughter Mary Beth (Madison Davenport) was among those slain and who struggles to reconcile her hatred with the ideals of the Amish community.

The movie is based on the nonfiction book Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy (2007) by Donal Kraybill, Steven Nolt, and David L. Weaver-Zercher. The book was adapted for this made-for-TV movie by Sylvie White and Teena Booth.

Yes. On Monday, October 2, 2006, Charles Carl Roberts IV, a 32-year-old milk truck driver, entered a one-room Amish schoolhouse in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, killing five female students and wounding five others. He then turned the gun on himself. In the movie, only Roberts is portrayed by his real name.

Based on the actions of Emma Mae Zook, the teacher involved in the real shooting, Teacher Ruth (Emilee Wallace) escaped while Roberts and the male students were carrying items from the back of his truck into the classroom. She ran to a nearby non-Amish farm where she asked the owner to call 9-1-1.

WEBG news reporter Jill Green (Fay Masterson) says that Charlie wrote in his suicide note that he wanted to offend God for taking his baby daughter. He was purposefully doing evil.

On the morning that Ida intends to move to Philadelphia, she agrees to attend a grief counseling meeting at the firehouse. Amy Roberts is also there and expresses her anger at her husband Charlie for what he did to the Amish girls as well as to her and her family. Ida is somewhat taken aback to find that Amy has the same feelings that she has and runs from the room. While she is pondering whether or not to go to Philadelphia, Rachel (Amy Sloan) is driven up. Her daughter Rebecca (Darcy Rose Byrnes) has regained consciousness and is asking to speak with Ida and Gideon (Matt Letscher). Rebecca relates to them what happened inside the schoolhouse and how Mary Beth offered to pray for Charlie, even though she knew he was going to shoot them. Ida's heart softens and, later, she collapses in Gideon's arms and asks him to take her home. The next day, the entire Amish community shows up at the cemetery to pay their respects at Charlie's burial. When Amy is surprised to see Ida, Ida explains that, before she died, Mary Beth had forgiveness in her heart. "I can do no less," says Ida. Six months later, Amy and her children attend the opening of the New Hope schoolhouse, built to replace the old one. In the final scene, Amy and Ida hold hands as the Amish children enter the school. In the final scene, a postscript appears: Of the five girls who survived the shooting with serious injuries, four were well enough to attend New Hope Amish School the day it opened.

No. Marian Fisher is the name of the real 13-year old Amish girl who offered to be shot first in order to buy time for the other girls. She is not to be confused with the fictional Mary Beth Graber who offered to pray for Charlie Roberts.

There are several films that have been set in Amish communities including Witness (1985) (1985) in which a young Amish boy witnesses a murder, A Stoning in Fulham County (1988) (1988) in which the Amish and the law clash when an Amish infant is killed, Harvest of Fire (1996) (1996) in which an FBI agent investigates an arson in an Amish community, For Richer or Poorer (1997) (1997) in which two hustlers hide in an Amish community, Plain Truth (2004) (2004) in which an Amish girl is accused of smothering her baby, Saving Sarah Cain (2007) (2007) in which a newspaper reporter attempts to raise her five Amish nieces and nephews, orphaned after the death of her Amish sister, The Shunning (2011) (2011) about the coming of age of a young adopted Amish woman, and An Amish Murder (2013) (2013) in which a police chief, once Amish herself, investigates the murder of a young Amish girl. Hutterites and Old Order Mennonites are distinct (especially linguistically) from each other and from the Amish, but they all have some cultural similarities. Along those lines, Holy Matrimony (1994) (1994) may be of interest.