Christopher Reeve as you've never seen him! Marg Helgenberger post "China Beach" and pre "CSI." An eerie, thought-provoking script (Robert Glass), beautifully acted.
Like all made-for-TV movies, this one moves along at a clip. Yet it's really a necklace strung of small moments that build . . . and build . . . to a truly disturbing conclusion.
From the opening scenes, nothing is quite "right." Everything's "normal," but not. This is "Superman" (Christopher Reeve) after all. Except it's not right.
No wonder.
The initial, "uh-oh," feeling quickly becomes darker with the accidental drowning of the little girl. And the exploration of this marriage. And the tragic dissolution of a mother who's lost her child.
And the sudden out-of-body experience of the mother (Marg Helgenberger) where her daughter says, "Stepdaddy drowned me." Uh-oh.
From then on, the story pits rationality and legal tactics (Mom goes after Hubby for murder, in court) against spiritual psychobabble -- or IS it? Maybe it's real . . . the dead girl slowly coming back to exact her revenge just as Mom's about to lose her sanity.
The builds are breathtaking. The ending is compelling but ambiguous.
Altogether a strange, beautifully written / acted / directed / photographed piece that rises above its genre with repeated viewings.
Like all made-for-TV movies, this one moves along at a clip. Yet it's really a necklace strung of small moments that build . . . and build . . . to a truly disturbing conclusion.
From the opening scenes, nothing is quite "right." Everything's "normal," but not. This is "Superman" (Christopher Reeve) after all. Except it's not right.
No wonder.
The initial, "uh-oh," feeling quickly becomes darker with the accidental drowning of the little girl. And the exploration of this marriage. And the tragic dissolution of a mother who's lost her child.
And the sudden out-of-body experience of the mother (Marg Helgenberger) where her daughter says, "Stepdaddy drowned me." Uh-oh.
From then on, the story pits rationality and legal tactics (Mom goes after Hubby for murder, in court) against spiritual psychobabble -- or IS it? Maybe it's real . . . the dead girl slowly coming back to exact her revenge just as Mom's about to lose her sanity.
The builds are breathtaking. The ending is compelling but ambiguous.
Altogether a strange, beautifully written / acted / directed / photographed piece that rises above its genre with repeated viewings.