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THE CROSSING

By Kevin MCLAUGHLIN

Social issues - Development 2026

A young woman fearful of outsiders learns that her grandmother's life-long secret has shaped her timid ways and held her hostage to a long-ago act of violence.

- Year of production
- 2026
- Genres
- Social issues, True Story, Drama
- Countries
- USA, IRELAND
- Director(s)
- Kevin MCLAUGHLIN
- Writer(s)
- Kevin MCLAUGHLIN
- Synopsis
- The Crossing, based on a true story, begins in 1943 at the seaport in Cobh, Ireland, as Ellen "Nellie" Lynch, 16, bids her mother a tearful goodbye, preparing to board a large steamer bound for America. Clutching two shabby bags, she tells her mother she doesn't want to go. "We've been all through this, now," her mother answers, "you'll go to America and have a grand life, and forget about all the troubles here."
  
  Suddenly, it's 75 years later, and Nellie is an old woman, living with her daughter's family in New Jersey. She shares a special bond with her granddaughter, Meagan, a nurse, like her mother, Maureen. Meagan's boyfriend, Glenn, is a promising young architect, who works for Meagan's dad, Rick. Though they're a great couple and she loves him, Meagan is apprehensive about making any commitments to Glenn. Meanwhile the architecture firm is facing some challenges that threaten the future of the business.
  
  Meagan is the first to notice that Nellie's mental state is beginning to slip, and it soon seems clear that she is suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Meagan and Maureen do their best to use their medical expertise to help Nellie, whom they refer to as "Nana." Nellie has moments of extreme clarity, but also is prone to saying crazy things as she confuses reality with events she's seen on TV. Finally, Nellie passes on in her sleep, and Meagan is left to cope with her issues without the support of her grandmother.
  
  As Glenn and Meagan struggle through their differences, it becomes clear that Meagan carries a fear of outsiders that can't be explained. Her closed-off nature becomes a real stumbling block for their relationship. When the family takes a trip to spread Nellie's ashes in Ireland, they learn some surprising things about her origins - and that not all the things she said in her final days were as crazy as they had seemed. In a moment fitting of the "#metoo" era, the source of Meagan's issues and the key to resolving them only become known when the family discovers a terrible secret that Nellie kept to herself for 75 years.