Illness has become one of the cinema's regular and popular staples, ever since Ali MacGraw suffered interminably (but profitably) in Love Story. Made-for-television movies, in particular, have come up with a series of often very well made dramas that are sometimes unkindly lumped together under the generic title `disease of the week'. Here, a first-rate cast and excellent performances elevate a fact-based story of a young man doomed to die unless he can be given a new heart into a warm and emotionally compelling picture. Rob Lowe, later to become one of the most often-seen members of the Hollywood `Brat Pack', makes his debut as the ailing lad and gives his role a convincing depth not always apparent in his later performances. And there are equally effective portrayals from the always-reliable Gena Rowlands as his mother and Don Murray as his father.


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