L'asilo maledetto

The pursuit of legitimate child abusers is worthy indeed, but this movie shows how it can quickly get out of control. It also shows how people who start out to protect victims can fall in love with their own reputations along the way. I'm sure all the "bad folks" in this story started out with all the best intentions. James Woods and Henry Thomas stand out in a strong cast. This is a very important story.

Tremendously disturbing and well-acted film. What is most troubling is the fact that this episode really occurred. Remarkable portrayal of how easily something like this can get so totally out of control. It is hard to imagine this feeding frenzy among, supposedly, educated and sophisticated people. James Woods is dead-on perfect as an initially slimy, opportunistic attorney, who finds himself slowly horrified by what he finds himself in the middle of. His courtroom questioning of Dr. McFarlane (Lolita Davidovich)is riveting. An impressive, well-done movie, but extremely troubling for what it says about our justice system.

It's 1983. Police receives a complaint from Judy Johnson of her son's molestation at the McMartin family-run pre-school daycare center in Manhattan Beach, California. Eventually over 60 children make accusations of outrageous abuse at the school run by 76 year old Virginia McMartin (Sada Thompson) prodded by child-psychiatrist Kee McFarlane (Lolita Davidovich) and her questionable techniques. Virginia's grandson Ray Buckey (Henry Thomas) is at the center of the accusations. Callous defense lawyer Danny Davis (James Woods) is eager to take the case stoked into a media circus by Wayne Satz. Lael Rubin (Mercedes Ruehl) is self-righteous prosecutor. They arrest Ray, Virginia, his sister Peggy Ann (Alison Elliott), mother Peggy (Shirley Knight), and teachers Betty Raidor and Babette Spinler. Prosecutor Glenn Stevens pulls the case together discovering it to be built upon conflicting testimonies from the children.

This is a compelling true story. It's told from the defense's side although I'm not sure what the prosecution's side would be. It's a harrowing case. James Woods brings his energetic persona to full force. The case is riveting and utterly memorable. It is a great award-winning TV movie from HBO.

Indictment really catches the mind and makes you think. How one day, everything is normal and fine, but then it is instantly turned upside down. Of course for the McMartin family, there world is turned upside down in the most horrifying way: they, who ran a child-care facility, are accused of child molestation. With exception of Danny Davis (brilliantly played by James Woods) and the defense, the McMartin family is friendless and the issue of wheter they did it or not is lost on the public. They make the assumption they did it and treat them like dirt. It's like a modern Salem witch hunt. People like to be optimistic and think something like this will never happen in the US and people accused of a crime will never be treated this way, but this movie really proves the notion of 'Innocent until proven guilty' can be lost on people when the crime is big enough. See this movie.

Fat-free account of the legal crucifixion of a pre-school teacher and his mother, caught in the frenzy of an anti-molestation movement. The screenwriter, Abby Mann, sticks to the transcripts, and so the pungent subtext is seen only glancingly: the mania of save-our-children parents, obsessed either by their own guilt or an overidentification with wounded innocents. Gripping from start to finish, the movie also features a rarity: a hyped-up James Woods performance as the defense attorney that is, for once, trim and in keeping with the surroundings.