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I’ve loved James Dean ever since my high school art teacher showed me East of Eden and Rebel Without a Cause, which prompted me to write a senior essay on the famous actor’s life and work. So I’m coming to Mark Rydell’s made-for-cable biopic with some healthy scrutiny and high expectations. The film may be a little too brief in its overview to satisfy die-hards, but it’s an otherwise warm love letter to Dean and his all-too-brief but spectacular career.

James Franco won a Golden Globe for his spot-on, angsty performance, while Michael Moriarty took home an Emmy for his supporting turn as Dean’s distant father. The tenuous father-son relationship provides the arc for Israel Horovitz’s masterful teleplay, which balances Dean’s quest for love and approval with succinct backstory and impressive recreations of scenes from Rebel, Giant, and Eden. It’s especially fun to see Edward Herrmann play Raymond Massey on the set of Eden, out of sorts wth Dean’s raw, emotional improvisation. Rydell is also a hoot, appearing as tyrannical movie mogul Jack Warner, a cause for Dean’s rebel within. One of the scenes that particularly moves me is when Julie Harris (Wendy Benson) looks around for Dean after their last day of shooting Eden. She finds him crying in the rafters after having grown attached to his ‘film family’ that is now packing up to go their separate ways. I’m also impressed that the film doesn’t shy away from Dean’s bisexuality (or, hell, pansexuality?) and that the tragic car crash is handled with restraint and respect.

James Dean may be a TV movie, but it’s full of feature film quality. Be prepared for the closing narration. Delivered posthumously, it’s a three-hankie moment for anyone whose father-son relationship is even the least bit unrequited.