Il gioco dell'illusione

I think this movie could have worked if they had gone with a better actress. Or just any other actress. Haylie Duff is so bad that she´s in a category all on her own. From the first moments when she is on screen every facial expression she makes is awful and made me wish for something extremely terrible to happen to her. Yes, she was playing a character who looked like a horse with the worst personality you could imagine. It´s impossible to have any sympathy for such a person when the actress is this bad.

I would have given this movie a 10 if it wasn't for the ending. Great plot and, in my POV, Haylie Duff delivered a powerful performance- one of the best. We had the boyfriend and real estate guy figured out early but never would have guessed the reason they were gaslighting her until near the end. In this computer age, a setup like that is very imaginable.

Haylie played the victim nicely- almost falling apart at times but holding it together at some important times. Guts and grit.

The ending let down everything the film had created. When the cops got the real estate guy and the boss and found all the computers and wiring and cameras in the house, they would have thoroughly investigated all the players, including the doctor (who we figured out was evil at her very first appearance.) Oh, but that's right, Lifetime always makes the cops into bumbling idiots, so the ring continues even though the bosses are gone and the doctor would have at least gotten spooked by the arrests and breaking up of the ring. Sad.

These types of movies do have their audience. The type that can sit down for that runtime and handle the back and forth. When done competently, anyone can get invested. In this film however, only few can withstand the tedium of it all. The movie itself isn't bad. You will go along with the ride and question her sanity as well. You will understand her frustration with herself and everyone around her. And then u just won't care and wait for the answer. I won't reveal anything here but stick with it if you started it, you might as well. But overall some will have a good time and others won't. I didn't, but that's just me.

I've probably seen all of HD's Lifetime flicks, and honestly, she's the same character in each movie. I always see her. Now I know you're saying, it's Lifetime, what do you expect, but I certainly think she could probably switch it up sometimes. If it's a "thriller," she's always a tightly wound, anxious, ball of nerves. Her Christmas movies have the same issue where it's always Haylie Duff and not any given character.

All that said...it's not a bad movie. The storyline is a bit dark and a stretch, but if one watches within the context of the universe they set up, you just gotta roll with it. The opening scene is very dramatic and sets the tone and you will question whether or not she's crazy or being driven crazy. I think the supporting cast (some of who I recognize from Hallmark) do a good job of enough ambiguity so that you can't tell if the movie is being played straight OR if she's being gaslit (like the movie Gaslight). Going back to Haylie Duff...after a while you're going to get annoyed by her because the character's mood is always on eleven.

I won't spoil the ending, and it's not a must watch, but like another contributor said...if you watch past a certain point, you'll feel compelled to finish the movie. It's one of those movies where it's either A or B, so on the off chance someone wants to guess what happens, I won't say much more. Even though the movie's old.

Teri Polo is wasted here, but her role is more or less a cameo so easy money I guess.

A good plot twist is one you don't see coming but when it happens you find yourself thinking "oh, so that's why..." In other words, the pieces of the puzzle should be introduced over the course of the movie, but then be assembled in an unexpected way.

With this movie, we have nothing to go on until the final twenty minutes when they introduce a completely absurd premise out of left field. They may as well have blamed everything on space aliens or vampires.

The acting and production quality of the film are pretty good. Nonetheless, when you get to the end you will feel cheated. Don't watch it.