La fuerza para vencer

Interesting movie dealing with a difficult topic: depression and grief. Mallory is very happily married and has two daughters. They live in a dream house. Her husband and two daughters go to New York and he gets lost in New York. He ends up in a bad neighborhood. Two young men approached his car and wanted money. There was a robbery. For absolutely no reason one of the assailants shoots the three of them. Mallory basically lost her entire family. This movie deals with bereavement. She goes into a deep depression and hits bottom. Mallory did not want to leave her bed. She then befriended the police officer investigating the crime. She relives the entire incident where her family is killed and is healed in the process. The police officer and Mallory become close friends and fall in love. The way this movie deals with depression is very true to the reality of depression. Sad at times but it is a very good movie. It make me wonder what would I do in such predicament.

Sweet, romantic film that begins on a very sad basis but ends on a hopeful note. I've always liked Jack Scalia, and even though he's a little older here he's still good-looking. He and Sean Young made an attractive couple. This film is set in Manhattan, but other than some obligatory shots of the skyline and the theater district was obviously filmed elsewhere, like maybe Toronto. That was okay, but what spoiled it for me was the cop who seemed to work completely independently of protocol (a homicide cop with no partner?), bringing a civilian along for interrogations, arrests, etc. Yeah, right. This is totally unrealistic and would no more happen than you would see Steve McQueen chasing somebody at 100 mph in Bullitt. But the love story in the latter half of the film and the chemistry between the stars makes it worthwhile.

This movie was very touching, I did not think I would cry but it really touches you especially how Mallory deals with the grief of losing her whole family. This movie is a 10 because Jack Scalia is amazing. He is so good looking and he really is great in this movie it is romance just like the novels from Barbara Taylor Bradford so if you a fan of her then you will appreciate that they casted the role of the detective in this movie perfectly. The romance was great, Jack was fantastic. If your a fan of Jack you will not be disappointed. I only wish he was making more movies like this. I saw this on lifetime and was not disappointed. Besides Jack being worth the view, Sean Young is really great at playing the grieved widow. I really thought I wouldn't like this movie but was surprised when the tears starting flowing.

The story content aside, I've always found Sean Young to be a bit 'wet' and languid in her acting abilities, but my main critique is, François Laplante the woman responsible for 'costume design' on this film. What was she thinking ? The film was made just over 20 years ago, but even the wedding dress when Mally got married was clearly plucked from another age in the wardrobe warehouse.

In the opening scenes Sean Young is dressed in what must be the worst costume ever seen on film. Ok she's at the top of her game in the advertising world, but really ? a brown checked suit with velvet collar, on top of a brown sweater, on top of a white blouse, with brown trousers and her hair pulled back in a low pony tail, and we are supposed to believe the handsome owner of the company is attracted to someone wearing mens clothing ???

This is a movie to be enjoyed for what it is: a portrayal of life with its ups and downs. Whether it was filmed in Ontario, Malaysia or Romania, in my case, it truly did not matter. Also, whether Di Marco was a "one man" operation has no bearing on the true sentiments that are woven throughout the film. If I am interested in portrayal of "real life" scenarios, the History Channel, Discovery and National Geographic work very nicely for me.

Although DiMarco (or Jack Scalia) is very handsome, I did not focus on his great looks, but rather found his character rather engaging for what he was: a contradiction of gentle and tough, loving, caring, sensuous, earthy and sophisticated. He was so convincing about his cooking abilities and "it is all in the spices" that I had to run to the closest Italian restaurant for some pasta-- no kidding!

I just hope he keeps on making TV movies that we can all enjoy-- so if he is a little older, so are we!