L'enfant de la colère

Our children are like our most precious natural resource. We live in a society that is so hardened and callous in so many ways, but crimes against children is still something that hits us right in the gut and sickens our soul as a people and as a nation. Child Of Rage may be one of the hardest films to watch, but you need to watch it. It is hard-hitting and realistic and based on a true story. People have often spoken about how Hollywood is so cynical about religion of any kind. They usually portray "church people" as corrupt crazy or both. I like that fact that in this tv film, a minister and his wife who adopt these two children are portrayed as the most wonderful people. They are good and kind and loving and nothing is presented that would suggest otherwise. Mel Harris is a fine actress who never has gotten just credit. She is wonderful as this loving woman who tries to reach this tortured little girl who has been thru hell. People who only know Dwight Shultz for his role as that crazy pilot on that stupid and ridiculous tv show "The A-Team" would really be shocked if they could see his wonderful and sensitive performance as a true man of God in this film. The best scene for him is in the end when he gives a sermon about children in pain and talks of his own ordeal. It is a truly moving speech indeed. It would take someone utterly without a heart not to be moved by it. There are so many other real-life Catherines in this world who are abused and tortured and hurt and this film makes you realize that. I had never heard of the little actress who plays Catherine in this film, but she is incredible. you feel so bad for her, but it is also chilling how cruel she is when she attacks her little brother and tries to stab her parents, when she stabs the family dog, throws fits, attacks a classmate and fondles her poor grandfather. You just want to look away watching this but cannot. Mariette Hartley is a wonderful actress and gives a great performance as an understanding psychiatrist. The scenes in this film that are hardest to watch are when they use the "holding" technique with the little girl. Where they hold her and make her explode in rage. It is sort of like watching The Exorcist the way she acts. This is a first-rate tv film with fine performances all around. It may not be a pleasant story to watch, but it is one that needs to be told. I felt so bad for little Catherine and I wondered how she turned out in the end if she was ever able to live a normal life. The little actress who played her made her seem so real to me that it haunted me long after the final credits. I guess that is the greatest compliment you could pay an actor. They need to make this film available on video or DVD.

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.

This movie, this EPIC drama is the absolute essence of harsh reality child abuse captured on film. However, thankfully, the audience is not subjected to visual monstrosities, instead to the brutal repercussions, horrible effects on the child's mind. Movies like this one, which was written and produced with "eyes wide open" if you get my meaning, are of course under-appreciated and naturally unpopular because it is extremely emotionally intense. This film deals directly with and delivers the raw, pure evil that can so easily be created and begotten simply by other evil-- what and who children become of being brutally abused, alienated, neglected. I've seen this film twice within five years and both times cried during several parts and bawled after the end... for I can only and completely feel the outrage and true crime of what psychosis does to children, hence deep sadness of the reality of what people are and do. So, obviously, FAINTHEARTED & EMOTIONAL -BEWARE. One important thing though! This movie is not a complete depressant and downer. It teaches the lesson of hope and the power of love as Catherine and her brother are luckily sent to live and grow up with a caring, loving Christian family who doesn't give up on them when Cat's rage emerges with a passion and helps her deal with and heal her severely disturbed mind. That part of the story was mostly unrealistic, but beneficial and justified. It gave us what we wanted to see-- a basically good ending. All in all? This movie is awesome in the serious issues department. Thorough, informative, heart-wrenching, fairly realistic, profound and IMPORTANT. The main cast did a great job, *especially* and foremost Ashley Peldon (Cat). It will either frustrate, anger and sadden you and/or inspire you to help kids & be part of the solution, not the problem. This film deserves an award. Thank you. (Yes, I'm *finally* DONE! wHeW) =+)

Interesting: based on a true story....it was like "The Bad Seed" but with logical explanation given for the Child's behavior. Kind of left you hanging at the end". I give it two stars.

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.