Untamed Love

Humm well I've read the book "One Child" and i have to say that they cut a lot more than i thought they would out they never talk about what caused or why the guy did what he did to the girl, I knew that there was a lot of stuff they couldn't actually show you like seeing what she actually had done or anything and i know that the film was made a while ago now but they didn't even cover it in a conversation between Maggie and Catline as when reading the book the after school sessions that they had were very important and the fact that she didn't talk at all when she joined the class.... Humm i liked the film and I'm sure that a lot of people liked it it was just a bit toooo far away from the book i thought but hey its hard to make a film like that so they did well for that :)...

This movie butchers the real book on which it is based. The Maggie character in no way reflected the teaching methods or philosophies of her real life counterpart; John Getz ("Dan") plays a complainer who is just as far removed from his real counterpart as Maggie. The script and acting were stiff and unconvincing. This movie shows the downside of literary license.

The real book on which this inadvertently mocks will not be identified by title here to a) protect the innocent, including the real people whose lives on which it is about and b) not to associate it; those whom it is about or its author in any way, shape and form to this trite tragedy of the week.

Untamed Love is based on a true story adapted from the book One Child. However it has the sheen of a 1990s typical made for cable television film and not a very good one at that.

Maggie (Cathy Lee Crosby) is a devoted teacher to a class of students with special educational needs. She reluctantly accepts a 6 year old girl, Caitlin who comes from a disturbed background and refuses to speak. Caitlin who is uncooperative at first slowly blossoms.

However Maggie finds out that Caitlin may be sent to a state mental institution and she and her lawyer boyfriend fights to keep her out especially as it seems Caitlin has emotionally developed a lot and has a high IQ.

The problem with the movie is that it is like a lot of true life films of that era. Emotionally manipulative, half baked and flatly scripted and directed. It lacks grittiness. Caitlin comes from a rough, dirty background but we never really get the feel of it although they make the father out to be a boorish, trailer trash scumbag.

There are hints that her father sexually abuses Caitlin but that aspect of the story is not fully explored apart from when she is suddenly taken to hospital.

The film has been sanitised so much you can smell the antiseptic through the television screen.

Most negative reviews on here relate to the fact it does not fully follow the book, but as someone who never read the book I found this TV movie to be excellent. Ashlee Lauren who plays the young child Caitlin was outstanding. I was surprised that IMDB doesn't even give here a credit and I had to search elsewhere for who she is. Cathy Lee Crosby is also good in her role but the rest of the cast were not ass convincing. But it was the story that hooked me. I felt sad that any child had to go through what this poor girl did, and with such a high IQ it shows how the education and social systems fail such ones.

I watched this recently on DVD and I rate it as excellent - if you like children and have compassion for the disadvantaged.

Although there was nothing outstanding in terms of filming or special effects the children's' acting is great and it is a truly heartwarming story, often difficult not to cry! Even more so when you realize that it is true.

The other aspects of the story are cleverly interwoven, with interaction between the teachers, and with the teacher's home life, with well acted and thoroughly believable lines. However, it is always the scenes with the children that steal the show.