Widow on the Hill

I've seen this film four times now, and it holds my interest every time. Jewel Staite does a great job as Jenny, the heart-broken daughter, in defying the gold-digging new wife (Natasha Henstridge) of her dad (James Brolin), who was hired to be a hospice nurse to his wife.

Jenny becomes convinced that her stepmother is up to no good and it isn't long before the evidence starts mounting. This based on a true case film (search for Donna Somerville case) will hold your interest if seeing justice done means a lot to you.

I wish I could say more without giving too much of the plot away, but I hope you will watch it if given the chance.

Hank Cavanaugh (James Brolin) is a wealthy horse farm owner. His trophy wife Linda Dupree Cavanaugh (Natasha Henstridge) is accused of his murder by his daughter Jenny Cavanaugh (Jewel Staite). Linda has a sketchy past and started out as Jenny's dying mother's nurse.

This is a Lifetime movie. It follows Linda and is definitely painting her as the black widow. I don't know about the real story. The closing text leaves a lot undecided. This movie has definitely decided right from the beginning. Hank is too dumb to save himself at a certain point. I can maybe accept his point of view before then, but he's not being smart after that. This movie could work better if it is more of a mystery.

this is based on a true story.just how much dramatic liberty was taken,is hard to know.anyway,it's about a woman who had pretty much nothing.she eventually marries into wealth.when her husband dies,there are questions about whether it was an accident or not.and of course,the movie suggests she wasn't faithful to he husband.either way,i found this movie very depressing,and a lot like a soap opera.yet i also found it hard to quit watching,at the same time.the acting was good all around,so that made it more watchable.still,if you're in a down mood,i wouldn't watch this movie.it might just make you more feel more down.for me,Widow on the Hill is a 5/10

In Widow on the Hill, Natasha Henstridge plays a former nurse, Linda Dupree, who captures the affections of a recent widower (James Brolin as Hank Cavanaugh) and quickly becomes his new wife. Both parts are well acted, although often upstaged by Hank's grown daughter, Jenny (Jewel Staite). Jenny appears at first glance to be a troubled girl trying to overcome her mother's death while trying to stay sober. The audience quickly realizes that Jenny is much stronger and smarter than most of her family and friends give her credit for. Jewel Staite creates a 3-dimensional character out of what could have been a cardboard cliché. The story tends to fall flat at points, but overall this movie boasts a quality cast that make it worth seeing at least once.

I started off being interested somewhat in the movie. It appeared it might be serious drama, dealing with death, grief, and healing, with some realistic human conflict thrown in. Alas, it didn't hold up.

I need a movie with somewhat consistent and believable characters. Too many characters in this movie were portrayed as extremely gullible and inconsistent. Look, I know this was not supposed to be Shakespeare, but come on, I need some quality in script and characterization.

The acting was alright, the writing not so much. At one point, James Brolin's character is berated for showing up at a picnic under-dressed. He states that ordering him around will not work. His new wife says that if he goes home and changes she will rip his clothes off later. That is a howler. This movie had a few unintentionally funny lines.

It was hard to care about Jame's Brolin's character. When he so readily gave his first wife's things to his new wife, even allowing his daughter to be snubbed, I lost most of my sympathy. Who really cares what happens to him. I must confess that I did not finish the movie. If it did a 180 in quality in the last 45 minutes, let me know. It was just unpleasant to watch and so predictable I felt there was no need to finish it.