Nel nome di un figlio

This is not your standard underdeveloped Lifetime movie fare. There is nothing superficial about this movie. The characters are fully developed. Let's face it. The best movies on Lifetime are the ones that are two parters. When you are dealing with this kind of material, you need that extra time to develop the plot and characters fully. Valerie Bertinelli is at her best in this. I kind of almost got the impression that she was really just playing herself. The aspect that I found most interesting in the second half of the movie, was the exploration of the Midwestern "Family Values" of the Heartland versus the evil New York/New Jersey devils represented by the Silvanos. Kind of makes you wonder!

I usually don't watch the junk on Lifetime, but I'm on a Valerie Bertinelli binge. (I'm just recovering from my Deborah Kerr binge.) This is what so-called "women's television" should be -- a compelling story (Whether it's "true" or not has never been a selling point with me.), very well-drawn characters, and a solid script. If you'll pardon the screenwriter's lingo, the set-up was one of the best I've ever seen. The Silvano family was colorful without being a parody of Italian-Americans. Each member was presented as an individual as well a part of the whole. Finally, I first realized Valerie Bertinelli (VB) was (and is) one darn good actress when I saw her in "The Haunting of Helen Walker." Another exception to the usual Lifetime TV fare, I was floored by VB's performance -- solid, subtle without being underacted, giving her own interpretation to a well-known character. In "In a Child's Name," VB gives another very good performance, presenting a well-rounded character -- recognizable and one-of-a kind at the same time. Yep, one darn good actress...

This movie epitomizes two telefilm genres (the Sunday Night Tearjerker and the Lifetime Movie) but towers above most examples of both. It aired as a two-parter; the first half told the story of a woman's murder by her husband and his eventual arrest for the crime, while the second concerned the custody battle over the couple's son between her sister (Bertinelli) and his parents (Huddleston and Fletcher).

The first half retains an admirable level of tension throughout, though the crime isn't ever really a mystery. Thankfully, the actual crime is not shown, though the filmmakers found a better way to convey its brutality: the final shot of the first half of the show is one of the most shocking sights I've ever seen on television.

The custody battle in the second part is less suspenseful but raises several interesting questions. The cultural bias by the killer's parents against the evil, urban, ethnic (Italian) family of the victim had some resonance in their son's marriage. Not to overgeneralize, but a friend of mine was married to a man from rural Indiana and his family was a LOT like the people in this film. The filmmakers clearly sided with wife's family on this point--the "moral" Hoosiers are both unattractive and unpleasant. The question of how their "heartland values" produced their monster of a son is never really addressed.

The performances are uniformly excellent and often surprising. Bertinelli and Chris Meloni as her husband prove to be far more than a couple of (very) pretty faces, as does Michael Ontkean as the cold blooded killer. It is important that this not get lost by being lumped in with the scores of similar but inferior TV movies.

This is a very engrossing TV movie, well worth watching. The performances are uniformly good. This movie also contains, in my opinion, one of the best scenes ever seen on television. Not to give anything away, I'll just say watch when the girl's parents go to bed in her house! Absolutely sensational.

It's interesting that actors who used to be known as "good guys" like Gregory Harrison and Michael Ontkean (who is one of the stars of this film) go on in the next part of their careers to play sleazes. Guess it's their good looks, but Ontkean is very good as the husband.

I also liked the Italian background present in the film - and the grandfather's reaction to Ontkean!

This movie is heartwarming and a real tearjerker. I have a copy of it on tape, and I watch it all the time. I never get tired of watching the Taylor's get what they deserved. I really enjoyed watching it over and over again.