Rabia

I really enjoyed this movie a lot. Mel Harris was brilliant and Dwight Schulz well known for his role on Star Trek The Next Generation as insecure Barclay and even more well known for his role with Mr T and co really shows another side to his abilities in this film. He is an amazing actor who shines in any role and is particularly good in these kind of drama movies i have found. In all an Excellent TV movie and just the thing if you enjoy a good drama. Not an Hollywood blockbuster by any stretch of the imagination but its not supposed to be. If your thinking of buying this movie I would definitely suggest watching it first via a rental store or catching it when its on television. Highley recommended for all those lovers of TV drama movies with a real life feel. I would definitely watch it again if it came on TV.

This movie was by far one of the best movies aired on the Lifetime Movie Channel. It does a great job depicting the effects of child abuse and sexual trauma on young children. This movie will leave you at the edge of your seat hugging your pillow wondering what will become of little "Cat". I love the way little "Cat" is portrayed throughout the movie as the innocent child with a dark secret. The end is very inspirational as to the efforts of psychologists and their aid in helping children dealing with PTSD. Anyone who has been abused as a child will understand the hidden meaning behind this movie and understand what little "Cat" had to go through. Watch this movie with an open mind and understand the reasons behind "Cat's" mood swings and tell me if you still think she is a "brat". I don't think so.

The hammy acting, the artistic license taken with the story, the goody-two shoes couple who are so full of Christian love, they won't give up on their demonic brat, Cat. The almost-murders (accompanied by "tension" music), the cheesy strip club (with one of the background strippers decked out in a grandma bikini) and the ummm...oh yes, the kids who scream a lot. This film is tedious.

This MFTV movie is based on a true story of Beth (Cat) and her brother John (Eric), whose mother died when Beth was one year old. They were adopted by a religious couple when Beth was 19 months old and John was an infant. The story of the abuse and neglect suffered at the hands of her birth father after the mother died and before they were adopted is mostly true, but the story was produced for television so keep that in mind.

For those interested, read the true story of Beth's experience in the book entitled "Dandelion on My Pillow, Butcher Knife Beneath It" by Nancy Thomas. Beth herself is quoted in the book and helps to tell her own true story. It is not solely a book about Beth, but contains other even more fascinating stories of real children who lived on Nancy's therapeutic ranch in Colorado.

These kids killed and/or tortured animals, murdered someone in their own family, and one was even a serial rapist.

Having read the book, I found and just re-viewed for the first time since it was aired on HBO a video of the special, "Child of Rage: A Story of Abuse" done by Ken Magid. The film, although brilliant, was misleading, according to Nancy and Beth. By the time filming took place, Beth had lived with Nancy for some time and had substantially healed from "baby Beth's" ordeal and was well on her way to recovery. Her interview was a testament to the progress she had already made, and she was simply reciting factually the past events when Dr. Magid explored the incidents with her. Her behavior by then had permanently improved and she was neither violent in any way nor displayed any kind of behavioral problem.

Nancy and her husband were under the impression that they would keep Beth as their own, but the religious adoptive parents had other plans for Beth. Under the guise of a visit to their home on the east coast, the adoptive couple instead put Beth with an Aunt for a while and then turned Beth over to a program created especially for Beth and others like her when the facility was completed. Both Nancy's family and Beth were devastated. Later, the adoptive parents legally abandoned her altogether; however, the setback didn't revert Beth to violence and, in fact, the facility said they had never witnessed any kind of malevolent behavior out of Beth since she was put there.

By the time Nancy and her husband found out where Beth was, they immediately discovered that Beth had been abandoned and rapidly moved to adopt her.

At the writing of Nancy's book, Beth was a college student and said that Beth is a beautiful, happy and completely recovered woman. Thankfully we have people like Nancy out there.

Ashley Peldon is frighteningly real as "Cat" a child who grew up abused and molested, who is then adopted by Mel Harris and Dwight Schultz. Despite their love and attention, the child gets worse (the scene where she abuses the family dog is rather chilling).

Harris learns that the child had a less than ideal upbringing; again this brings up the nature/nurture debate. Harris finally encounters a therapist (Mariette Hartley) who theorizes that the rage must be tapped into, to find the source of the child's pain.

What is interesting and valuable about this Lifetime movie is that it addresses a particular pathology, how the parents attempt to deal with it, and how the health care and/or social work system cannot or will not.

Mariette Hartley, whose father committed suicide (in real life) is very credible as the therapist, discussing rage and denial issues. With problems such as this, it seems society has only begun to skim the surface. 8/10.