Escaping the Madhouse: The Nellie Bly Story

The tragedy of Lifetime's presentation of Nellie Bly's story of her time in the insane asylum on Blackwell's Island is that reality of what happened to her and chronicalled in her book '10 Days in the Madhouse' is far more interesting than the fictionalized account presented in the film. What Nellie Bly did was remarkable and lead to significant reforms in the way things were done. Truth is frequently more interesting than fiction.

Why would you post a major spoiler in the description IMBD?!

Is an entertaining movie loosely based on the real story, yes that's right, but I rather prefer a not so accurate story because it's a movie after all. If you want to know about the real story, just read the book and stop complaining about the "mistakes" the writer supposedly did with the film.

This was... fine. But on the low end of it. Also it is probably too late but don't read the description or watch the trailer as it just immediately tells you the "twist" lol

The beginning was confusing, and not in an atmospheric, tone setting way... just... confusing. As it went on it started to clear up but never got particularly "exciting" yet still kept your attention and intrigue. I know nothing about the historical accuracy of this portrayal but I bet they could have beefed it up a bit.

As far as the acting goes everyone did a fine job. The old timey affectation that more times than not goes with a period piece of this era felt a little too stilted at times and was distracting, particularly from Nellie and the doctor. They did a good job but weren't always fully convincing. Judith Light on the other hand did a fantastic job. Her professionalism, experience and tact as an actress really shines through here.

Over all this lands around a 4.5 rounding up to 5 as it wasn't BAD by any means... definitely a Lifetime movie if you know what I mean. As far as a recommendation... I'm indifferent.

I think this was a really interesting movie that kept my attention throughout. It wasn't sappy, cheesy or overly dramatic. I liked that it was based on a true store, even if it wasn't completely accurate. A great cast of characters and loved the two main actress' , Light and Ricci.