Le Visage de l'innocence

Early on my husband and I commented about the bad writing and acting. Yet, we agreed to keep watching it despite the flaws. It got a bit better and we watched to the end, we are just glad that it was on Netflix so we didn't have to pay for it.

Watched this to pass an hour and a half and I wish I had the time back. I knew after 30 seconds it had that made for tv feel about it but thought maybe it might be ok. Nope. I was wrong. Acting is shocking. Script is worse. Based on a true story so I don't know how they did it so badly. Would have been better off making a docudrama out of it than an actual drama. Don't waste your time

My wife was watching this movie when I came home, so I only saw 30 minutes, but what I saw was terrible. I feel sorry for the actors, it's not their fault, but the director should be embarrassed.

Crappy film, there are no other words to describe it, this film is exactly a manual on how not to make a thriller film because it contains everything that sucks in this type of film because the film is obvious and predictable in a terrible way and in its the central part is so stupid, obvious and boring that you can easily skip it, in my opinion you could easily watch the first minutes of this film and then the last ones just to see how it ends because otherwise the film is rubbish and that's it. So it can be said in conclusion that this film is unwatchable, boring and annoying and that watching it is just a useless waste of time.

Family secrets and turmoil are always good plot points for a thriller as is the case with this story and film. After being left on her own by her mother, Rachel Kent (Skovbye), is taken in by her father, Greg (Bancroft), and his wife, Cindy (Davis). She quickly ingratiates herself into the family and everything is good. However, when the store she is working is broken into and her friend is murdered, while she is left tied to a table, the police don't believe that the crime is as black and white as it appears.

It's the titles of the movie which are the drawback as they reveal a major plot twist. This is a shame as the writer does try to keep a mystery, at least for a little while, as to who the criminal is. Though there should be a spoiler alert on the titles it only deters from the integrity of the film a tad. Where it's strength comes from is the story and the characterisations. There are some really dark moments, though because of it being a TV movie these are depicted in a lighter shade. I really liked the moment that Cindy Kent tracks down Rachel's mother. This is when she learns of her past and along with the portrayal of Rachel's mom this scene left me chilly.

The director, Garrard, does a good job of keeping the pace of the story trotting along while building tension and atmosphere at all the right places. Though the rest of the directing techniques are basic, some differing camera angles and such wouldn't have gone amiss. While the actors and actresses, for the most part, do more than an agreeable job with their portrayals. However, sometimes, Tiera Skovbye, slips in and out of the maple, oak and sycamore style of acting. Unfortunately, most of these moments come in key scenes so they're more noticeable.

These are only minor issues so I would gladly recommend this to all armchair detectives, mystery lovers, and thriller fans, as I found this to be an enjoyable and entertaining film. Not a bad way to pass a snowy afternoon.