Small Sacrifices

I had read the book, and have to say the movie, for the most part, is very similar and is just done very well. Everything from the acting, to the directing etc etc, is superb. This movie is, sadly, a true story. It stands at 4 hours or so but it always keeps your interest. Farrah Fawcett loses herself in her character, and I have to say, I don't see how this movie can be watched, without the watcher coming away with a very healthy respect for Ms. Fawcett.This true life story is so disturbing, the thought has to flash through your mind whether you can sit through a 4 hour drama about it, and although of coarse some scenes are extremely difficult to watch, as you'd expect them to be, this movie is not something you can turn away from once it's on and is both shocking and horrifying.

It is directed and acted on a level as good as major big screen releases and the character development is great as well. There isn't one bad piece of acting in the movie and this Is the best I've ever seen Fawcett.

Today, we've been true-crimed to death. Yet, this story was one of the firsts of it's kind and not to mention the best. Akin to Burning Bed, Fawcett rings in an absolute superb performance as she realistically and accurately portrays the sociopath known as Diane Downs. The movie carefully plots the turn of events without over dramatizing. The moving portrayal of Christie Downs (known as Karen Downs in the series) is quite haunting. Many true crime dramas leave me with a taste of ratings-desperation in my mouth. The focus of these are not feelings but instead dramatic effects. This series however was much different. What you find here is Diane's self-centeredness and apparent inability to feel sorrow contrasted with a child who, even without speaking, manages to convey a fear of her mother as well as true love for her in a very tender heart wrenching way. While this description may very well sound overly dramatic it truly isn't. This is just such a well made series. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Two thumbs up to Farah Fawcett, Ryan O'Neal and the ever talented John Shea.

So much for being a dumb blonde - Farah rocked. She took being "unfit" to a whole new level. I thought I had seen the best in her in "Extremities" but she once again showed the "acting world" that she is a force to be reckoned with. Ryan has still got the good looks and the acting to go with it.

John Shea's portrayal of the Prosecutor was RIGHT ON! He exhibited a determination that wasn't his job . . . . it simply was the right thing to do for the protection of the children.

A must have for a movie collector (it needs to be in DVD form also)!

Enjoyed viewing Gordon Clapp,(Detective Doug Welch),"Splendor Falls",'99,)(NYPDBLUE), who starred in this picture and really gave Farrah Fawcett,(Diane Downs),"The Cookout",'04, a very hard time because of things that happened to her very own children. This story is about a Diane Downs who is desperately seeking to find true love in her life and winds up going from one husband to another and plenty of one night stands. Diane claims that her very own father molested her many times and gave her very little attention except for sexual advances. This story goes into great detail about all her affairs and there is a very long trial which Diane has to encounter. Farrah Fawcett gave an outstanding performance and I wish she would perform in many more pictures.

The TV movie format has been used endlessly to depict true crime stories, from parents who kill their children, to children who kill their parents, to rape, to theft, to abuse. I myself saw two or three similar films just last week. So what makes a rather unassuming TV movie from 1989 like "Small Sacrifices" stand out so much? It's hard to say. Certainly the acting has a lot to offer. Farrah Fawcett, Ryan O'Neal, and John Shea - three well-known actors whom I was familiar with but never previously cared for - are the dramatic core of the script. They all perform well beyond expectations. Fawcett, for example, who I would've thought incapable of such depth, is alternately terrifying and emotionally unhinged. It's a breathtaking performance. The real surprise, however, is young Emily Perkins. Or not such a surprise for me, because I'd been familiar with her heartbreaking role in the last four seasons of "Da Vinci's Inquest". But even at the tender age of twelve, she is a fully realized actress of incredible range. Her testimony on the stand is so emotional that it left me in tears. This is a performance without cliché.

"Small Sacrifices" isn't yet another painful exercise in domestic unrest, like it might appear to be on the surface. David Greene seems very aware of what he wants to get out his film here, and he directs the human interaction brilliantly. It's a hard film, sure - really hard - but powerfully dramatic. One of the best of its kind.