We Were the Mulvaneys 2002

In 1974, the Mulvaneys, a well-regarded family living on the High Point farm in Mount Ephraim, upstate New York, appear to epitomize a stable, closely knit life. The household is led by Michael Mulvaney, Sr. Beau Bridges, a successful roofing contractor, and Corinne Mulvaney Blythe Danner, whose devotion to family anchors the clan. Their children—Mike Jr. [Mark Famiglietti], Patrick [Jacob Pitts], Marianne [Tammy Blanchard], and Judd [Tom Guiry]—are treated as bright hopes of a community that admires the Mulvaneys for their warmth, generosity, and shared traditions. The family’s farm, High Point, sits at the heart of this quiet town, a symbol of their stature and the careful balance they maintain between public respect and private bond.

The fragile peace of their life shatters at the Harvest Ball, when Zachary Lundt [Shawn Roberts], a popular athlete and a friend of many, lures Marianne into a car after alcohol softens her guard. The assault becomes a shadow over the Mulvaney household. Marianne, scared and overwhelmed, keeps the incident secret at first, leaving Corinne to sense that something is deeply off. A doctor, Dr. Oakley [George R. Robertson], confirms the assault and urges the family to listen to their daughter rather than rush to judgment or punishment. The talk that follows is painful but necessary, and Marianne’s confession marks a turning point for everyone. Michael pushes hard for charges against Zachary, while Marianne, grappling with guilt and hazy memory, doubts her own course of action and ultimately declines to testify. The tension between a father’s demand for justice and a daughter’s desire to protect herself fractures the family’s unity.

As the news leaks through the town, Marianne becomes the target of cruel gossip and social ostracism, and the Mulvaneys’ public image begins to crumble. Michael’s reaction—impulsive, protective, and furious—puts him at odds with Marianne and with Corinne, who tries to mediate with a softer hand. The pressure drives Michael toward alcohol, and his drinking begins to corrode both the family’s finances and its standing in the community. The ripple effects are swift and painful: Mike Jr., Patrick, and Judd grow restless and drift away from home, seeking to escape the growing bitterness that has settled over their once-harmonious farm. The Mulvaney name loses some of its luster as debt mounts and their social circle contracts, forcing them to confront a harsh, unglamorous reality.

In a darker chapter, embittered Patrick decides to take action against Zachary, enlisting Judd in a reckless plan to obtain a gun. The two boys track Zachary to a swampy edge near town, and the moment escalates into a dangerous confrontation. Patrick abducts Zachary, and the two men drive him to the water’s edge, where he sinks toward the mud. In a stark turn of feeling, Patrick realizes he does not want to kill his worst enemy; he lunges into the mud to save Zachary’s life instead of letting him drown, and then leaves him to vanish back into the wilderness. The episode marks a crucial shift in Patrick’s arc, underscoring the complexity of revenge and restraint within a family already stretched to the brink.

Many years pass before the Mulvaneys can reckon with their past. Michael’s battle with cancer becomes the fulcrum around which old wounds begin to heal. Marianne returns to the family, and Corinne, having endured her own long reckoning, asks for forgiveness for her previous ferocity and suspicion. The household grows once more—not only in people but in the sense that some level of trust can be rebuilt. The family members who once left home begin to reconnect, and the circle widens to include new spouses and children. In the end, the Mulvaneys find a path to closure that honors what they endured and reaffirms the stubborn, enduring ties that bind them together, even as the memory of the past lingers in more tempered, hopeful forms.