Unable to walk, she moves in with her father and grandmother (Eva Le Gallienne) and begins a new life in a new community. She meets other sick people in town and discovers that she is able to heal their illnesses, and is also able to feel the pain of their sickness as well. Her legs also miraculously heal.
The grandmother attributes the phenomena to the work of a higher power. Ellen is skeptical; I like the line where she says "I'm not the Holy Ghost...and I'm not exactly the virgin Mary either!" That's about as comedic as the film gets, as it's more drama than comedy.
Some of the townsfolk are skeptical as well, and psychologists want to run tests on her. But she wants to help the community, and even sets up revival-style tent meetings. Well-intentioned, she never exploits the people.
I've been wanting to see this movie for a long time, and it is now available to watch online streaming on Youtube. Ellen Burstyn delivers a good performance; the film is all about how her character deals with the new situations she is faced with after the car accident that kills her husband. Does she really have the power to heal? Well, the movie actually leaves it open for you to decide. I personally don't believe in faith healers, but I do believe that certain healings are sometimes unexplained. Ellen's character even says, "I can only heal 30% of the time".
Maybe that's the point of the movie, to think about what causes this phenomenon.
I think a 1990s movie with John Travolta called "Phenomenon" was somewhat similar, but I haven't seen that movie. It might make for a good double feature with this one.
Co-starring Roberts Blossom (Home Alone) as her father and Sam Shepard and Richard Farnsworth as kind townsfolk. A great cast!