Not Our Son

Readers Digest had an article on this case called "Stalking The Seattle Specter". Forensic Files also had an episode on this case recently. Paul Keller was one of the worst arsonsits in American history. He set almost 100 fires in Seattle, one of which killed some elderly people in a retirement home. Like the Unabomber, Keller was caught not with brilliant detective work, but by his own family turning him in. His brother saw a composite sketch of the serial arsonist on tv and realized it was his own brother. Paul Keller had been troubled since birth (his father said they had a life of hell with him), but I cannot even begin to imagine him family's horror and grief when they realized it was their son who was the Seattle specter. The Kellers gave the reward money to the victims and publicly apologized to them. This movie is an excellent portrayal of a family's anguish. Gerald McRaney is wonderful as always as the father who has to betray his own son to save innocent lives. Neal Patrick Harris is wonderful and creepy as Paul. He looks so unassuming that its hard to believe the evil that lurks in his soul. By the way, the psychological profile that they did of the Arsonist matched Paul Keller almost exactly, even predicting that he would be a traveling salesman who used his own automobile. What got me about this film and the real life case is that Keller had absolutely no remorse at all for the horror he caused innocent people and his own family. He was a sociopath with absolutely no conscience at all. He seemed proud of what he did when they interrogated him and he bragged about how he eluded the police and firemen.

In addition to the previous reviewer's comments, Keller was sexually molested by a firefighter between the ages of 12 and 19. This explains quite a lot about his motives and reasoning. This doesn't excuse him but does give us a lot of insight as to why he resorted to fire as a means of regaining "control" of his surroundings. Most arsonists use the destruction of fire as a means of asserting control that they lost at some point in their lives. Componding the fact that his abuser was employed to fight fire it seems even more "logical" that an individual whose emotional stability has been distorted would resort to setting fires. Keller was the one who was in control of when, how and where the destruction would occur. No one could figure out who he was and therefor couldn't stop him leaving him in total control of the situation. Though these kinds of individuals can't be excused for their actions, their psychology makes for a very intriguing story.

Wow, what a great movie

Although the story was very simple, and the action/ fire scenes were nothing special it was still a very easy going movie, and genuinely made me cry

There was no forced humour or sub plots, This was a gritty And very realistic movie

Neil Harris and Gerald raney were both amazing, And were very believable as father and son

The rest of the cast however were shockingly bad, especially the mother and daughter

One thing I didn't like about the movie was the cheesy music they played during the car chases, this really bought the tone of the movie down

Another thing is the movie felt very rushed,I would have loved to seen more of a build up to the movie, We knew almost nothing about the main character.

I am not familiar with the case, but this was a gripping account. Very well acted throughout, and very well written and directed. This story is as much about a family breakdown as it is about a dangerous criminal. I also liked it because on the face of it no one would suspect the culprit. This film dramatised the relationships and character of Paul Keller in a way that seemed realistic and also explained his actions to some extent, and left me feeling satisfied that the story had been well told. How truthful the dramatisation was I could not say, but it certainly seemed truthful - whether or not the details are accurate, it has dramatic truth.

You just never know who is going to be a pyromaniac!! I thought Tom Verica's performance in this movie was sensational!! Neil Patrick Harris was the perennial misunderstood reprobate who resorted to pyromania as a hobby!! It is of course a sickness to be afflicted with such a lethal obsession!!! Tom Verica always plays the well mannered right side of the law...Currently, he is directing episodes of "Boston Legal" the talent is there.. Even on L.A. Law I thought Tom Verica was one of the best parts of the show!! When you think about it, Tom Verica is pretty sensational in basically every way!! Overall, "Not Our Son" evoked a social commentary which SPARKED!! (Pun intended) an identification with the serious illness of pyromania!! I enjoyed this made for T.V film very much and thought it served a very useful purpose!!