It wasn't a bad movie. But it would have been 10 times better if it wasn't produced as a Lifetime movie. I mean, the storyline was great. A naive teenage girl falling for a much older divorced man who ends up a victim of serious domestic violence, and after years of submissive abuse being finally pushed to the edge of having him killed.
Like I said, the storyline was great, but the lazy presentation and annoying acting ruined it. There's a scene where they have Laurie's parents over for dinner, and the husband is giving Laurie a lengthy, deathly stare because he doesn't like that she's wearing makeup. How long was he looking at her like this for? Was he angry from the minute he got home or did he suddenly decide to be angry when dinner was almost over? Noticing the tension, the parents say they should get going, and suddenly the scene cuts to Laurie being forcefully dragged through the house by the husband being shown how messy the house is. I feel like I had missed something entirely.
Jennie Garth was cute and good in her role, but her squeaky girly mannerisms were a bit annoying. It was hard to distinguish her from her 90210 Kelly Taylor character. She looked and sounded exactly like Kelly. There was no effort made to give her a makeover so she could look like a different character. Even her hair was styled the same. But I guess that's Lifetime for you.
I rate this a 7 purely for the storyline. It highlights the importance of recognising domestic violence and the reason why a lot of women stay in abusive relationships. The red flags were everywhere, but Laurie having lived a difficult childhood didn't believe she deserved any better so convinced herself she loved this guy. And in Laurie's case she knew that the only way out was by killing her abuser.
Like I said, the storyline was great, but the lazy presentation and annoying acting ruined it. There's a scene where they have Laurie's parents over for dinner, and the husband is giving Laurie a lengthy, deathly stare because he doesn't like that she's wearing makeup. How long was he looking at her like this for? Was he angry from the minute he got home or did he suddenly decide to be angry when dinner was almost over? Noticing the tension, the parents say they should get going, and suddenly the scene cuts to Laurie being forcefully dragged through the house by the husband being shown how messy the house is. I feel like I had missed something entirely.
Jennie Garth was cute and good in her role, but her squeaky girly mannerisms were a bit annoying. It was hard to distinguish her from her 90210 Kelly Taylor character. She looked and sounded exactly like Kelly. There was no effort made to give her a makeover so she could look like a different character. Even her hair was styled the same. But I guess that's Lifetime for you.
I rate this a 7 purely for the storyline. It highlights the importance of recognising domestic violence and the reason why a lot of women stay in abusive relationships. The red flags were everywhere, but Laurie having lived a difficult childhood didn't believe she deserved any better so convinced herself she loved this guy. And in Laurie's case she knew that the only way out was by killing her abuser.