Love, Lies and Murder

A well rehearsed story that David Brown forced his daughter and sister in-law to relate to the police. His intention was to get his daughter out of the house so he could manipulate and seduce his sister in-law. He was the true personification of evil. The judge summed him up perfectly. Clancy Brown gave a magnificent performance. Moira Kelly was believable in her role as the loving daughter.

Although you won't find a lot of big names in the cast (perhaps that enhances the production!) this is a first rate true-crime drama. As the story unfolds we find that Brown is, as the judge states, "More scary than Charles Manson." The only problem I had with the entire production, was the script seemed not fully developed, characters dropped in and out without much of an introduction or explanation. Having read the book I was more easily able to follow the story. All said and done, however, this is a good one.

Sheryl Lee (after Twin Peaks and other David Lynch films) is still beautiful, still a little crazy, and still worth watching. No one (other than maybe Michelle Pfeiffer and Michelle Phillips) have eyes that are as sexy and alluring as Sheryl's. Moira Kelly (long before she grew up and had a role on The West Wing) is believable and a little scary. Cynthia Nixon (long before Sex in the City) has not changed at all in the past 10 years. She has a presence about her that makes her, while not beautiful, very sexy and intriguing. Any performance by Tobin Bell (watch him in The Firm) is always scary, suspenseful, and very entertaining. He only has a small part in this film but you won't forget it. And Gerry Bamman also has a small, but effective, part. If you are a fan of Law & Order, you've seen Gerry many, many times. This film is not yet available on video or DVD but has aired several times on CourtTV. My rating is only a 6 overall but for suspense, it gets a 7 and for not being able to figure out the ending until late in the film, it gets a 9.

There seems to be several versions out there of this mini series out there between 2 hours 30 and 4 hours, the version i watched is i think the UK VHS version at 3 hours. From the very start this is a story that grips you and it helped my enjoyment of the mini series that i knew nothing of the sensational real life crime the movie depicts. Watched all in one go it does flag in places and does repeat and labour the story, however as it was intended to be seen in episodic format this most be forgiven. With a quite superb central performance by Clancy Brown with Sheryl Lee and Moira Kelly not far behind. It just drives home to me the depth of TV talent that never gets the recognition deserved or goes on to become major movie stars in the old sense. This TV mini series is very much worth watching and it does make you think about the power of manipulation.

This was an excellent movie that held my attention the entire 4 hours it was on TV. What makes it more interesting is to know that it's based on a true story. It all starts when 14 year old Cinnamon shoots and kills her stepmother and then tries to kill herself. The story unfolds from there into a web of lies, deception, and seduction. I don't want to give too much away, so I'll just say that if you're into the kind of movies shown on Lifetime TV, check your TV Guide or run to your video store - this is definitely one worth watching.