53 Days: The Abduction of Mary Stauffer

Lifetime took a terrifying, real story and turned it into a boring, glaringly fake movie.

The acting is absolutely attrocious. The little girl lacks any acting skills, I wonder who cast her in this movie, and why. As for the professional actors, especially the only name recognizable, Alyson Hannigan, they all should be ashamed of portraying of real life persons with such incompetence.

The soundtrack is cloying. The dialogue is inane. Eg., Question: "How long have you been watching me?". Answer: "Nobody will find you".

The scenario is illogical: the only time the abducted mother screams for help is several weeks after being locked in a closet when the kidnapper plays LOUD music!

Everything in this movie makes you aware how FAKE and idiotic it is.

Everyone involved in making this movie did an abysmal job.

Over the top tamed down version of events. Made for tv event, really.

These true stories SHOULD be treated as true stories and not some cleaned up version. It's a disservice.

You have to wonder about the people who are around you when you consider true crime. Mary Stauffer was not a woman who one would consider to be living a high risk lifestyle yet she and her daughter were abducted.

The film is fairly tame considering what they actually went through. Lifetime has a way of filming some pretty horrific crimes committed against woman in ways that are respectful towards victims and that is appreciated by a lot of women.

I would suggest this. It was well acted and a decent watch for a night on the couch.

Since this movie is based on a true story, it is difficult to be hyper critical. I will say Alyson Hannigan's portrayal of Mary Stauffer was layered and well acted. Nice to see her step out of her comfort zone!

This review isn't to discredit the ordeal Mary and her daughter went through, but to critique the acting and direction. Horrible!! I've seen better acting from Lifetime and I'm very disappointed in their low budget production of this true story. They sugar coated what happens to Mary and her daughter and should have focused more on making this feel less like a mediocre cry for their fan base. The camera is often unsteady and the actors talk like they are reading from que cards