Simple Story, Big Truth : ‘Bonds of Love’ Confronts Prejudice in Fact-Based Movie on CBS

Treat Williams believes that his latest project, “Bonds of Love,” is basically a very simple piece, and therein lies its strength. “The events are on a small scale,” he said, “but I think the feelings are very great and on a grand scale.”

Based on a true story, “Bonds of Love,” premiering Sunday on CBS, tells the bittersweet, inspiring story of Robby, a 36-year-old man with the mind of a 6-year-old, who falls in love with Rose (Kelly McGillis), a woman with a questionable past.

Rose had been married twice before, and her two children had been sent to a foster home because of her drinking problem. Although Rose has turned her life around, Robby’s overprotective parents (Hal Holbrook, Grace Zabriskie) question her motives and attempt to keep the two separated, even after they marry.

“The question people ask me (about the film) is ‘What would she see in him?’ ” said Williams, who also is co-executive producer. “What would a woman see in a man who is retarded? What kind of a woman could she be? I think if I could answer the question, then I probably wouldn’t have needed to make the film.”

McGillis said “Bonds of Love” forces viewers to confront their social prejudices. She admitted confronting her own while reading the script.

“When I read it, it never occurred to me that retarded people would want to be in love and have a normal life,” McGillis said. “It was something I never thought about. That was one of the reasons I wanted to do it.”

Williams said that he knows why Rose fell in love with Robby: For the first time in her life, Rose was the recipient of unconditional love.

“I think that’s everybody’s dream in a way,” Williams said. “She takes the good with the bad. She has to care for him like a child in some ways. My wife and I have a son. He’s just about a year old, and my wife keeps saying to me, ‘If only I could stop time right now. I would be so happy. I love him at this age.’

“There is part of that in this relationship too. Rose gains a son, a child and a lover and a friend,” Williams said. “She is missing a little bit of the intellectual companionship, but (in) every marriage you get some and you don’t get some. I think what she doesn’t get is completely balanced by the fact this is a woman who has just had a terrible history with men.”

“I don’t think she’s had a very good life,” McGillis agreed. “She meets somebody who is really good and happy--two things she really hasn’t had in her life. I think they learn a great deal from each other. Both of them learn a great deal about their independence.”

With video camera in hand, Williams flew to Kansas, where the real Robby lives, and spent a week filming him. “I had over a month to just sit with the tapes and begin to assimilate him, which was wonderful to me,” Williams said. “I think this is one of the best roles I have ever had, bar none.”

Co-executive producer Harry B. Chandler said he tried very hard to make certain no one, especially Robby’s parents, was depicted as the villain. “The parents--even though they may have made a mistake--ultimately, they did it from the perspective of love,” he said.

“I think every parent, myself included, can imagine what would happen, what would be in their mind when a child comes home and says, ‘I’m in love.’ They had a hard time imagining someone would love their son. Then they found all kinds of reasons why they didn’t like (Rose), and it multiplied.”

Chandler believes the true villain of “Bonds of Love” is ignorance.

Robby and his parents “were living in a little town where there wasn’t a lot of government or private organizations where they could go for advice or medication or learning centers,” he said.

The events depicted in the movie happened less than two years ago, and the story is still unfolding. The real Rose and Robby have yet to live happily ever after. “She still lives on the edge of poverty,” Williams said.

The times the couple were separated, which are depicted in the movie, have had a profound affect on Robby. “He really placed his trust in her, and she kept getting pulled away from him,” Chandler said.

Robby is now living in a group home and spending weekends with Rose. “He is too anxious about being without her during the day,” Williams said.

“At the group home he is being trained to reassimilate into society and the work force. He is afraid if he is separated from her, he won’t see her again. His concern all day is to call her on the phone and make sure she is home. He needs to be comfortable again knowing that she can go to work and know she will be there. I am hoping, we are all hoping, that the anxiety will dissipate and he will become more comfortable in the fact she is not going anywhere.”

“Bonds of Love” airs Sunday at 9 p.m. on CBS.