A retired lawyer investigates a murder that occurred in the house he has just moved into with his daughter, unaware the killer is watching him.

A few weeks back, I happened to catch this movie on Lifetime (not a new one but I happened upon it due to my affinity for one of the stars), and I found it rather intriguing.  While the storyline is fairly typical, and at times I found the writing a little underwhelming, I am happy to report the acting was top-notch.

Barbara Niven (Lauren), Daniel J. Travanti (Stan), and Katherine Dines-Craig (Marlee)

Daniel Travanti gave a matchless performance as the father of Lauren. I was not aware of him before seeing him in this project, but I was completely captivated by his performance in this film. Also featured in this photo is Barbara Niven (I will cover her performance extensively in a moment). Additionally is an actress I know very little about–Katherine-Dines Craig, and her role was small but well-played.

Barbara Niven (Lauren), Gary Hudson (Brian) and Ellen Dubin (Claire)

Well, I’m actually glad I waited a bit to review this movie. Since watching this film, I have become aware of the actress Ellen Dubin (featured above), and I look forward to seeing her in an upcoming project. And as usual, I found an unexpected Sebastian Spence connection (it seems to ALWAYS happen even when not looking for it). In this film, I didn’t pay special attention to her, but I do recall her character, and she did a fantastic job (as she always does–I remember her from First Wave). In fact, I refreshed my memory on her character, and yes she was exceptional! I believe I may have to watch for this film yet again so I can watch her with new eyes. Also featured above is an actor I recognize but I have no idea why (Gary Hudson). While I do not recognize by title anything in which he has been featured, I might have to look him up as he played his part so convincingly. He looks like such a nice guy (spoiler alert–he’s not!). Again, Barbara is featured, but I will discuss her momentarily.

I was quite impressed with the way Lisa Zane played her “dead wife” role. As Roxanne, she and Gary’s character truly had the kind of chemistry you would want. Was she really alive or a figment of his imagination? Was she the crazy one, or was he? I found myself fascinated whenever the two of them were on-screen together.

Gary and Barbara portrayed their characters with true finesse. I’ve already spoken about Gary, but Barbara for me is what sold this movie. I don’t know how she did it, but she took a rather lacking script and turned it into something memorable. There is something magnetic and electrifying whenever she is on the screen. And when she and Gary were on the screen together, I found myself buying into this story. Together, these two took this story to new heights. They gave their all, and with Barbara Niven, how can you ever go wrong?

For my more sensitive viewers, there are some minimal bedroom scenes (very tame), minimal profanity, and some violence (all standard “Lifetime” fare). If it weren’t for the brilliance of these actors, I would have quit watching after about five minutes. However, Gary, Barbara, Lisa, and Ellen all worked together to make this a worthwhile and memorable film (memorable for the right as opposed to the wrong reasons). It just goes to show you that no matter the grade of script, fine actors can always bring a degree of magic to any film. And I applaud their efforts.

For more information:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0481285/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

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