“Do your recon,” Brian Cox says to Sinqua Walls in the 2022 film Mending the Line. “More great literature has been written about fly-fishing than any other sport.” So begins a reluctant friendship between two military men that grows while they wade in Montana’s shallow waters waiting for pike to bite. 

From director Joshua Caldwell (Infamous), the film centers around a Marine living with trauma (Walls) who learns to face his struggles head-on as he fosters an unlikely friendship with an older veteran (Cox). 

When will Mending the Line be released?

Stream it now.

Sinqua Walls as Colter in Mending the Line

Who’s in the cast of Mending the Line?

• Brian Cox (Succession) as Ike, a veteran
• Sinqua Walls (The Blackening) as Colter, a Marine
• Perry Mattfeld (In the Dark) as Lucy, a photographer who works at the library
• Patricia Heaton (Everybody Loves Raymond) as Dr. Burke, who works at the local Veterans Affairs (VA) medical center
• Wes Studi (Reservation Dogs) as Harrison, Ike’s friend
• Irene Bedard (Avatar: The Last Airbender) as Mrs. Redcloud
• Michaela Sasner (Prey) as Ruth, who works at the library with Lucy
• Pressly Coker (How I Met Your Father) as Blitz, Colter’s best friend in the Marines
• Chris Galust (First Love) as Kovacs, a Marine
• Julian Works (9-1-1: Lone Star) as Ram, a Marine

Brian Cox as Ike in Mending the Line

What happens in Mending the Line?

Colter (Walls), a sergeant in the Marines, has just returned from Afghanistan, where he was wounded right before his tour ended. He’s tormented by flashbacks and nightmares about what happened to his fellow Marines and racked with guilt that he was unable to prevent casualties among them. Now, after passing through a few rehab facilities, he’s desperate to return to active duty but he’s just not ready yet — his post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms are nearly unmanageable. So when Colter meets Dr. Burke (Heaton) at the VA center, she pairs him up with an older veteran and fly-fisher named Ike (Cox), whose health is in decline. Ike is on strict orders from Dr. Burke to not fly-fish alone, and he’s initially resentful of Colter’s company — but as the two begin to spend their days together, they realize they have far more in common than either expected. And when Colter meets librarian and VA center volunteer Lucy (Mattfeld), his outlook on life gets a little bit brighter. 

Perry Mattfeld as Lucy and Sinqua Walls as Colter in Mending the Line

Is Mending the Line based on a book?

No, it is not based on a book. 

Wes Studi as Harrison in Mending the Line

Is Mending the Line based on a true story?

No, it’s fictional. 

Where does Mending the Line take place?

The film takes place in Livingston, Montana. 

Where was Mending the Line filmed?

It was filmed in Bozeman and Livingston in Montana. 

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