An Uplifting, Engaging ‘Season for Miracles’

Who knew a film about lies, deception and abandonment could be quintessential holiday fare?

Those who like their drama with a dash of despair will be pleased with “A Season for Miracles,” a splendid slice of sentiment airing Sunday on CBS.

One part fantasy, the other romance, this appealing “Hallmark Hall of Fame” fable yields fresh situations and engaging characters with a minimum of schmaltz.

A throwback to innocent pictures of an earlier era (“Miracle on 34th Street” springs to mind) that nevertheless boasts a contemporary sensibility, “Miracles” revolves around Emilie (“Chicago Hope’s” keen Carla Gugino), her young niece Alanna (Mae Whitman) and shy nephew J.T. (Evan Sabara), the offspring of a drug-addicted mother (Laura Dern, in a smallish role) jailed in Rhode Island.

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Anticipating that the kids will be lost to foster care, down-on-her-luck Emilie drives off with them, ending up in a Rockwellian town by the name of Bethlehem, where crankiness is virtually outlawed and the statue of an angel sits squarely at its center.

Add a major mix-up, a courteous yet suspicious police officer (David Conrad of the short-lived “Relativity”) and a genial, celestial presence (Patty Duke) and we have the makings of a sure-fire lump in the throat.

Happily, the ensuing relationship between Gugino and Conrad rings true, and the latter’s Bethlehem buds (Faith Prince, Mary Fogarty and Mary Louise Wilson) have enough dimension to make them credible and amusing.

Gugino is quite fine as the guarded Emilie, an attractive yet lonely woman whose prime motivation is the health and welfare of her charges. Whitman also is very good as the smart, acutely aware child who is equally deserving of a break.

Not sticky or cloying, the anything-is-possible script by Maria Nation is directed with an uplifting kick by Michael Pressman, who previously oversaw the “Hallmark” charmer “Saint Maybe.”

Miraculous it’s not, but we dare one to walk away from this film without feeling as if you had been touched, ahem, by an angel.

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“A Season for Miracles” can be seen Sunday at 9 p.m. on CBS. The network has rated it TV-G (suitable for all ages).