OK, so this is a made-for-TV movie, so don't go expecting Ocar-winning performances..... Adopt that outlook and this film will have you blown over!! For such an unusual subject matter as a beaten husband, it takes a very good actor to play that role convincingly. The character must be portrayed not as a cowering weakling, nor an angry, affronted paragon of masculinity... But as a normal, real man. There is only ever one REAL man in the movie industry and he's right here in the lead role - Peter Strauss.
By Real Man, I do mean that he responds as most real men would when suddenly battered by the one person they love beyond all else... Out of love. People who love stay with their beloved, as long as they can and you can feel every moment of angst in Strauss's performance. Even at the very end, you can tell he has nothing but absolute love for his wife and what he does is done because of that love.
This is my first film with Judith Light and several other cast members. Light's performance as a loving yet unhinged wife did come across as slightly over-the-top, but that just makes it necessarily dramatic and hammers home effectively the years of abuse in the 95 minutes such a production is limited to.
The supporting cast too deliver their roles well, but as with all such acting styles that find their way into TV movies, you have to watch closely to see the best of it as, just like in real life, it is very subtle.
For some reason, this film attracted a lot of negativity from certain womens groups. Perhaps because, like most people, they don't believe such a thing could ever be true and are just as shocked when they discover it is far more prevalent than anyone could imagine.
Conclusion: Another ABSOLUTE must see from the Strauss repertoire!!
