Carolina Moon

Victoria Bodeen always had psychic abilities. She was beaten by her abusive father for her devilous powers. As a child, she had visions of her best friend Hope being murdered. As an adult, Tory (Claire Forlani) returns to Progress, North Carolina to open a store and face up to her demons. Her father remains a suspect. She reconnects with her cousin Wade Mooney (Chad Willett), formerly chubby Dwight Collier (Jonathan Scarfe) and Hope's brother Cade Lavelle (Oliver Hudson) who still carries a torch for her. Hope's mother Margaret (Jacqueline Bisset) and Hope's sister Faith Lavelle (Josie Davis) still blames Tory. Tory's visions continue and it turns out to be a serial killer who's killing on the same date that is soon coming up.

Claire Forlani may not be big enough to hold the center of this movie or just as likely there aren't enough good actors to play the other characters. This is suppose to be a thriller but there is a distinct lack of thrills. The father is the only one that is threatening but he really doesn't have many scenes. His scenes with Tory are the only truly exciting scenes in the movie. The flashbacks don't have any tension and look like cheesy older effects. TV writer/director Stephen Tolkin is in charge and it looks like a TV movie. It's certainly doesn't have any cinematic style worth mentioning.

Once it started rolling I forgot this is a TV movie, until I chanced upon the IMDb page and started reading the comments. I'm very surprised to see a few very negative comments about this film. It may not be the perfect supernatural thriller or mystery story, but it's got great acting and some beautiful actresses, which let's face it, does help, and I'm not talking about supermodel, centerfold kinds of looks. (For those interested in men, they aren't bad either. Well, most of them.) It is of course about a psychic woman, but only touches upon the supernatural and does not run away with it. It has a villain, a serial killer, but keeps you guessing at who he, or she, may be. And unlike so many stories set in America's Bible Belt, you can't tell the good and bad guys based on their religiosity, their gods. It does confront, somewhat in passing, many grave societal issues, including child abuse, religious violence, gender inequality, and others, without being overly dramatic or moralizing.

This movie is a breath of fresh air, made with care not only about the writing, the dialog, but also a care to avoid the clichés that make most TV movies so pedestrian and predictable.

I never read the book, so it could well be superior. All I know is, Carolina Moon ain't bad at all.

This is a terrible movie. It starts out well, and the premise is intriguing and engaging: a young woman, Victoria, returns to her native town of Progress, North Carolina, many years after her parents and she left following the rape and murder of Victoria's best friend, Hope, which was never satisfactorily resolved. Victoria is also a natural-born seer or clairvoyant, although she can only see the past and the present, not the future. Now she feels as though she is back in town to find some peace of mind, and also to, somehow, reconcile with her past. It won't be easy, because she will be haunted by her past, and meet with the hostility of Hope's mother. But she will also find allies...

I said that it is a terrible movie, because it takes little to go all wrong, lame, boring, and lacking any coherence, sense, pace, or inner logic at all. The mystery part of the movie quickly loses steam as it tries to turn into romantic comedy with bits of family drama and comic relief that never really works. The characters turn into one thing then another and yet none of them is a full character that we really care about, the closest to that being the leading character of Victoria. The ending comes about quite abruptly and out of nowhere really, and it doesn't make any sense either.

No way did this feel like the usual TV movie. This movie was so exciting. And the directing wasn't like TV. It was like a movie. Everything moved so fast and you could feel the heat and the sunshine. And acting was just awesome Faith and Tory and Wade and Cade, they were all amazing, and the best part is the director and the writer actually made it funny the way Nora Roberts is when you read her. I loved the part where a certain character (don't want to do any spoilers here) got in a car crash and Tory was seeing it in her head--awesome, I practically jumped out of my chair it was so tense. Ten stars!! I can't wait to see it again. Nora Roberts should be proud.

First, let me state that I have no idea who Nora Roberts is. So the book may have been great, but the movie isn't.

I have spent my entire life living in the Peidmont region of NC. I have never heard southern accents as ridiculous as the ones in this movie. I have lived in two small NC towns and Charlotte and Raleigh. On occasion, you will meet people with a strong southern accent, but I have never encountered a town where everyone talks like a bad imitation of Gone with the Wind.

In response to Gore_Won from the atheist community. Your comments reveal more about your warped psyche than it does about the movie. If we were to stretch our imaginations and pretend that there is anything realistic in this movie - which there isn't - then the truth is that bad people such as Tory's father will always find some justification for their actions. The author chose religion as a counter to Tory's supernatural abilities. Your supposition that "the true character of the Gospels" directs a man to beat his daughter is about the most perverse and misinformed interpretation I have ever heard. Before you start spouting off about the Gospels, maybe you should read them first.

Back to the movie. The dialog is flat, unnatural, and unbelievable most of the time. In particular, many of the things that Kade said to Tory are inappropriate and do not match the mood, context, or way they are said.

The "exciting twist" at the end of the movie is lame, predictable, and lacks any credibility. Some have also claimed that Jacqueline Bisset does a wonderful job in this movie, but the truth is that the bitter mother character is also a stale, predictable, one-dimensional character. Is that Bisset's fault? I don't know.

If you have a choice between watching this movie and a twenty year old rerun of the Muppet Show, I recommend the Muppet Show.