Terror in the Family

Joanna Kerns, (Cynthia Martin) plays the role of a mother who loves her family and especially her daughter, Deena Martin (Hilary Swank) who has the hots for her boyfriend who is wild and drags Deena down the wrong way of life. However, Cynthia Martin loves to drink wine all day long and has trouble trying to deal with her husband who wants to make pottery in the basement all the time. In the meantime, Adam Martin, the son of Cynthia Martin loves to drink vodka from a bottle before he goes to sleep or when problems start to hit him in the face. The only sane person in this out of control family is Todd Martin, (Dan Lauria) who plays the role of the husband of this crazy family which needs professional help.

Hilary Swank is obviously a very good actress, but her casting here presents a problem: as a rebellious suburban teen with an anger management problem, Swank isn't too convincing as a malicious liar and conniver. This pedantic TV-made drama hopes to show how some parents attempt to substitute personal problems or an estranged marriage by turning their kids into pals (instead of helping them become responsible people). It has many intense moments of family conflict, yet Swank is too clean-cut, too brainy and well-wrought as a person to match up with this mercurial character. As her parents, Joanna Kerns and Dan Lauria have some very fine scenes, but Kerns (playing an alcoholic) is given too many not-so-subtle "sipping her wine" close-ups, and this particular needy mom (whose own mother was abusive–-these patterns repeat!) isn't quite convincing either: she seems to go downhill awfully fast (after the obligatory 'fixing dinner' scenes) and her background and relationship with her sister is left too vague. The melodramatic music score is obtrusive and obnoxious, underlining every emotion to the nth-degree and signaling the traumas far in advance. However, for a television film the narrative is tight and, after a poor opening (including a tatty flashback frame, the kind that never works), the movie improves and does try to solve its dilemmas carefully without too much hand-holding.

This film was edgy for a made-for-television show, dealing with real issues for a change. Miss Swank showed promise here early on, as well as newcomer Rachel Youngberg. Cinematography was good. Direction, for a film this size, was also good. The location shots were believable, which puts it ahead in my book. What made this film interesting was a storyline that moved it along, and enough action to keep it going. Some of the smaller parts seemed better acted than most, and may be due to the Utah casting. While it dragged in spots, the intensity of the characters pulled it through. I really liked seeing a younger Hillary Swank, with a hint at what she carried inside for later expression.

The subject matter is not just about a violent teen (Hillary Swank) but what got her that way. The title is misleading, sounds more like a serial killer type movie.

Kerns does well, portraying a housewife with a distant husband, drinking too much (as it turns out her mother, portrayed by Nan Martin, liked using physical force to keep the kids in line). Dan Lauria is the father, who prefers woodworking in the basement to avoid addressing the issues. There was also a similar film on Lifetime with Delta Burke and Ryan Merriman: "Child of Rage"; it presented this problem in a clearer light- and the audience learns that teen violence against parents is not unusual. There are also many different causes, and it does not happen in a vacuum.

This movie has Swank as the root of the problem, until the very end where it is clear her mother (Kerns) was raised by an abusive mother. This issue should have been developed more. Also the faltering marriage issue was never addressed; Kathleen Wilhoite is Kern's sister, who has some insight about the problem, and is all but ignored throughout the film. The other adults who contribute to the problem do not admit it until the last five minutes of the film, where everyone except the abusive grandma goes to therapy.

Worth a shot if you at least have an interest in what causes teens to act out, and why alcoholism exists.

This was an intense film from Lifetime Network, Hilary Swank is a teenage girl who wants her freedom from her parents and wants to be with her boyfriend,, well her parents are going to put a stop to this, but problem is this spoiled brat is violent and she goes after her dad by slamming a door on his arm,, fighting with her mother,, classic tale of teenage girl rebelling but goes way to far in this movie I felt,, the mother escapes by drinking whine during the day,, the husband is busy in the basement doing woodworking,, and the son is busy sipping vodka before bed,, this movie is kinda hard to watch,, in part because I had a teenage step daughter that was violent as she got older, but thank goodness not to the point in the movie , but close enough. interesting watch,,, Dan Lauria was good, and Jo Anna Kerns was great and stole the show for me.