Hilferuf aus den Flammen

You just never know who is going to be a pyromaniac!! I thought Tom Verica's performance in this movie was sensational!! Neil Patrick Harris was the perennial misunderstood reprobate who resorted to pyromania as a hobby!! It is of course a sickness to be afflicted with such a lethal obsession!!! Tom Verica always plays the well mannered right side of the law...Currently, he is directing episodes of "Boston Legal" the talent is there.. Even on L.A. Law I thought Tom Verica was one of the best parts of the show!! When you think about it, Tom Verica is pretty sensational in basically every way!! Overall, "Not Our Son" evoked a social commentary which SPARKED!! (Pun intended) an identification with the serious illness of pyromania!! I enjoyed this made for T.V film very much and thought it served a very useful purpose!!

In addition to the previous reviewer's comments, Keller was sexually molested by a firefighter between the ages of 12 and 19. This explains quite a lot about his motives and reasoning. This doesn't excuse him but does give us a lot of insight as to why he resorted to fire as a means of regaining "control" of his surroundings. Most arsonists use the destruction of fire as a means of asserting control that they lost at some point in their lives. Componding the fact that his abuser was employed to fight fire it seems even more "logical" that an individual whose emotional stability has been distorted would resort to setting fires. Keller was the one who was in control of when, how and where the destruction would occur. No one could figure out who he was and therefor couldn't stop him leaving him in total control of the situation. Though these kinds of individuals can't be excused for their actions, their psychology makes for a very intriguing story.

Always seems to be able to engage the audience. While this is a true story about Keller the serial arsonist in Seattle, it is truly the sign of a gifted actor if he can draw you into his world.

I happened to watch this movie this morning, and at first glance it is yet another true crime LMN movie with Gerald McRaney. Cindy Pickett turns in a decent performance as his mother (We may also remember her from "St. Elsewhere" and the movie "I Know My Name is Stephen" starring Cory Nemec). The story unfolds as the Seattle police have no clue as to who the culprit is, until McRaney decides the family, in good conscience, must turn him in.

I admit I also loved Neil Patrick Harris in "Clara's Heart". I am biased also, as I remember him from the days of Doogie Howser, MD, and he actually looks a lot like my brother, who used to get teased about this. Anyway this film is recommended. 8/10.

I am not familiar with the case, but this was a gripping account. Very well acted throughout, and very well written and directed. This story is as much about a family breakdown as it is about a dangerous criminal. I also liked it because on the face of it no one would suspect the culprit. This film dramatised the relationships and character of Paul Keller in a way that seemed realistic and also explained his actions to some extent, and left me feeling satisfied that the story had been well told. How truthful the dramatisation was I could not say, but it certainly seemed truthful - whether or not the details are accurate, it has dramatic truth.

Wow, what a great movie

Although the story was very simple, and the action/ fire scenes were nothing special it was still a very easy going movie, and genuinely made me cry

There was no forced humour or sub plots, This was a gritty And very realistic movie

Neil Harris and Gerald raney were both amazing, And were very believable as father and son

The rest of the cast however were shockingly bad, especially the mother and daughter

One thing I didn't like about the movie was the cheesy music they played during the car chases, this really bought the tone of the movie down

Another thing is the movie felt very rushed,I would have loved to seen more of a build up to the movie, We knew almost nothing about the main character.