A Dark Plan

This aired on the Lifetime Movie Network in late November, and wow! If I blinked, I might have missed it. So glad I recorded it to my DVR, as this was a FANTASTIC thriller! I'm rating it a 10 based on Television/Cable movie standards, but now that I think about it, this is a great movie even by theatrical standards! The acting was solid, the plot was fast paced and engrossing, while the tension was realistic. And there was also quite a bit of man candy, enough to satisfy those on BOTH sides of the fence. I agree wholeheartedly with the other reviewers (the 3 dated before mine) and highly recommend this as a great romantic suspense thriller. Look for it in your local TV listings as I believe it will rerun soon (as of December 2012). Lifetime has been cranking out some excellent movies over the past several years, and while some are turkeys, there are more than a few that are above average. This one is at the top of my list for 2012!

Great movie! Well acting, directing and story. Congratulations to all cast. I really enjoyed it. In the beginning I didn't expect anything good, but I noticed a couple of definitely good actors, (Kelly Lynch and Michael Nouri), so I thought that maybe... and it was! WOW! Very good pace, interesting plot, full of suspense and I didn't miss anything, just stuck to the screen until the ending. That was really well written and satisfying.

I'm not saying anything about the story as I don't want to ruin the surprise, but I highly recommend to give a look to this movie, if you like thrillers, of course.

Maybe it doesn't deserve 9 stars, but not even it deserves few stars, so I'm trying to give it a chance.

Kelly Lynch, who looks as good as she did in her "Drugstore Cowboy" days, plays a grieving mother who develops an unhealthy relationship with the best friend of her deceased son. But this being Lifetime, the twists keep coming. A palpable sense of dread and eroticism, strong performances by Lynch and the always solid Michael Nouri, and an expertly paced narrative, raise "Dark Desire" far above similar TV thrillers. This is hardly surprising, as the movie is directed by Armand Mastroianni. A much sought after TV director in recent years, Mastroianni directed some of the most stylish and intense independent horror movies of the early 80's.

We all know about Lifetime movies -or should I say Lifetime movie? These are variations on the same movie, which can admittedly take a (small) number of forms. Perhaps the most typical of these is the apparently ordinary but actually deranged individual who insinuates him- or herself into a family of innocents. Frequently the sicko will exploit an existing tension within the family for his/her own dastardly ends. Well, this is indeed what happens in this movie. But the similarity to a typical Lifetime movie pretty much ends there. This is no Anne Carlucci or Pierre David production. Nor is it directed by the ubiquitous, unimaginative, lifeless Douglas Jackson. Nor is the narrative punctuated with the characters' wholesome, sentimental, heartwarming chuckles. The film is directed with a sense of style, the actors are far above the level of mediocrity afflicting virtually all Lifetime actors, the camera work is relatively polished, the pacing and tempo never drag and the film is cut professionally. Armand Mastroianni is no star director, but he's way better than any of Lifetime's stable of inert "talents".

What prevents Lifetime from turning out something like this more than every 3 or 4 years? A restricted budget? An obsession with low-budget Canadian dreck? Probably something along those lines. Lifetime would surely broaden its audience were it to look to put together more movies of this calibre. Make no mistake, Dark Desire is not a first-rate film. But it's got a polish and professionalism entirely lacking in just about every other of the network's products. It starkly underscores the low-rent, shallow and amateurish quality of most everything else Lifetime has tossed our way. It's time to put Carlucci and David out to pasture.

Okay, I'm not a Lifetime fan... in fact, I'm one who typically makes fun of the kind of drivel Lifetime plays. But I stumbled on this one early on while flipping around and got a little hooked. The tension is well-played, and even small roles (the wife's best friend, the detective) are interestingly portrayed and realistic. Not your typical LMN fare, but deep and dark enough to draw you in. The interplay between the roommates is key to that tension, and I found myself genuinely torn between my alliances to the two. Kelly Lynch, who hasn't changed an ounce since her turn in Road House, stole the movie in a lot of ways, and her performance clearly guided those around her. In short, I really enjoyed it, and I'm not embarrassed to say so...