A Simple Twist of Fate is a 1994 drama film starring Steve Martin and Alana Austin. It follows the story of a loner who is forced to come out of his shell after adopting an orphaned girl. The script for the film was written by Martin (who also co-produced it), and is loosely based on the novel Silas Marner by English author George Eliot.

Some critics have praised Martin's adaptation of Eliot's story, while others consider it mediocre or even poor. Likewise Martin acting "seriously", instead of doing his usual comedy routines, has caused mixed reactions: some praising, some quite negative.

Alyssa Austin, Alana's sister, also appears in the film as a younger version of Alana's character.

Michael McCann is a man who feels totaly betrayed by the world, after his wife revealed to him that their child was not his. A few years after his break up we find him living alone in a small town. But, everything in his miserable life changes when he adopts a little girl whose mother died outside his house. After several years, the real father returns to claim the girl from Michael, thinking that she will be an advantage for his political career. Written by Chris Makrozahopoulos

When Michael McCann is thrown over by the woman he loves, he becomes something of a misanthropist and a miser, spending all of his spare money on collectible gold coins. Living in the same town is an affluent family with two sons: John and Tanny. Tanny's a wild boy, whom John cannot control, and one night he breaks into McCann's house, and steals the gold and disappears, which nearly confirms McCann's distrust of mankind. But then, a mysterious young woman dies in the snow outside McCann's house, and her small daughter makes her way to McCann's house and into McCann's life and heart. He names her Mathilda, and raises her, finding companionship and a new joy in life with his adopted daughter. But the secret of Mathilda's birth may tear them apart. Written by Kathy Li