PudgyPandaMan
I thought this was a well done movie for a made for TV movie. I think the cast all did a good job.James Wilder as the diabolical boyfriend/husband Scott gives me the creeps. Roxanne Hart as the heiress made me feel so sorry for her character. There are times when she talks and is crying and her voice quivers and it is so believable. How any woman puts up with such abuse is so hard to understand. The daughters were a good contrast to each other - Holly Marie Combs as the strong sister Alex and Sarah Chalke as the lush, weak sister prone to her mother's poor choice in men.The way that man shamed and humiliated that woman was unbelievable. Its hard to believe her daughters couldn't have done more to intervene. Hopefully, domestic abuse laws in NY have changed to have more automatic, severe penalties for abusers. The thing that I don't get is that the movie states several times that court favors attempted reconciliation. Why in the world - in the 1990's- would the court encourage a woman to go back to her abuser. This wasn't the 1950's, when abuse was swept under the rug, and people turned a blind eye.I think this movie reveals an important truth - that violence is an equal-opportunity evil; it inflicts the wealthy as well as the poor. People tend to think violence is an inner-city or working-class problem, but it doesn't discriminate. While they may not make up the majority, wealthy killers aren't hard to find in prison. In the graveyard, wealthy victims are even easier to find.
Will
Anne had every chance in the world to leave this bum. He smashed her face in several times; humiliated her in front of her family and friends; and fell for this jerk's constant begging and crying that he would change.No offense but this would not have been tolerated by a African American woman. She would have killed this dope after all of these events. If she really loved the little girl Tori, she would have put her in a better environment with the older daughters on a permanent basis and never went back to this animal.The movie was sad and well played. I admired the daughter Alex's toughness. Her sister was weak like the mom and let men punch her around too. Remember the scene when the police came and the weak sister and mom let the police leave without arresting the guy. No way they should have let that happen. However, this is a true indication of how abused women (and men in some cases) never make the tough decision to get out before someone gets killed. If they punch you once they are likely to do it again. Most do not change. I hope this is the lesson abused people took from this film. Nice movie but sad.
Kerryanne Jacobsen Okezie
This movie appeared to me to be sending the message loud and clear - THIS IS WHAT CAN HAPPEN WHEN YOU BECOME INVOLVED IN AN ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP AND DO NOT LISTEN TO YOUR SUPPORTERS. The fact that this movie is based on a true story removes any need for me to be critical of it. The producers did themselves justice by focusing on the daughters role in what happened. It should at the very least make any victim think about the pain the family and friends go through when they see a 'loved one' in an abusive relationship. I loved the film and all three main actors Holly, Sarah and Roxie were just great.I have to give the film 10 out of 10 - the whole cast and crew appeared to do more than 'really try;' they portrayed a story easily believable and is all too real. They didn't go for any fancy twists or turns - they just did it! I found myself feeling sorry for the loss of Roxie to all who knew her. Domestic Abuse/Violence is a hot issue for discussion and this film is a great training resource too!
Acemickey2002
This movie really touched my heart. I know so many women who have been abused and they believe men change, and they don't. This is one of those situations that will never go away and women need to realize that. I cried almost all the way through the movie cause it was just sad the way Scott treated her. I think if I were Anne's daughter, I would have killed him. Because deep inside, little by little, he was killing her before he actually did. Women, if you are being abused, please, watch this movie and learn, or you too, will wind up dead.
AD
