Cruel Doubt

I've seen this movie half a dozen times on Lifetime--I can't help it. The acting is really superb. Matt McGrath, whom I don't believe I've seen elsewhere (but whose IMDb listing is substantial) gives a chilling performance of a messed up kid who aspires to be nothing more. Blythe Danner is fantastic as mother and victim Bonnie von Stein. And she elevates any project she's in. Terrific performance. Daughter Gwyneth Paltrow was good, too, I thought, although others may not agree (see earlier post). I also enjoy seeing Dennis Farina--he's awesome and perfectly cast as a tough FBI trained investigator turned PI. Other great performances by Miguel Ferrer and Ed Asner. I think this movie is terrific and I'll watch anything and everything with a body count. I'd have to give it somewhere between 8 or 9 stars out of 10.

i've seen this movie just the other day on cable tv (in israel it has different connotations) and i was shocked to find out that

1) gwyneth paltrow (20 years old then) appeared there

2) "Dungeons and Dragons" was depicted as a monstrous twisted game, as opposed to the after school yawn social activity i use to attend. i'll get to that later.

the basic plot: the serene life of a wealthy suburban family interrupted when the father's body is discovered. the clues lead the local police to believe that it was a family member who's responsible, and the immediate suspect is his frigid doughter who seems greedy, vendictive and worst of all: blonde.

the plot thickens a bit later on and without elaborating too much I'll note that Dungeons and Dragons, a harmless game in which its participants adopt a bogous character and use its powers to overcome some dragons that are conviniently located inside you guessed it: Dungeons is depicted as a cult demonic ritual. I can compare this film to a film about a killer who goes out for its prey after watching the re-run of "who's the boss" the second thing that i noticed was that gwuneth is not much more that the movies she plays in, which means she can't save a bad film (i do believe that the film title related to her acting aspirations) let's sum up: the movie was standard when it was made back in 1992 and its certainly havan't gone better with age. if you get to see it, mock gwyneth for a while (it's fun, believe me) than move on Grade: 6, on my FilmOmeter.

Like everyone has said, this is yet another attempt to blame something tragic on something other than the human being that committed it. After Colombine, the great evil was on black trench coats. This movie blames it all on D&D. PLEASE! A coat is a coat as much as a game is a game.

I have another issue here. In this movie it was very clearly implied that only quiet alienated creepy loser-type men played these games. Perhaps this is a (subtle) wink at the idea that only men could be influenced by a work of pure fiction, but I have to think it's further proof that the makers of this movie, and the author of the book it's based on, did not bother to research the game itself or the players of it. Did they talk to players of RPGs that have not killed anyone? I think there are MILLIONS of them out there, both men and women, yet they must focus on the one young man that may have had something to do with a murder. I know, I know, before you say it, I know that a story of a perfectly socialized person who also happens to play role playing games would not be a very interesting movie and could not have been nominated for an Oscar, but it would have been closer to the truth than this *thing*.

All I request is that people THINK before they imply something that alienates a large group of harmless, friendly, NON-angsty people. Is that too much to ask?

Don't listen or pay any attention to the negative reviews. I remember watching this mini-series. Blythe Danner is memorable as the mother who comes to terms with her son's horrible crime. Gwyneth Paltrow who is her daughter is memorable playing her daughter. Ed Asner plays one of the lawyers and Kathy Kinney has a small role before she hit it big on the Drew Carey Show as Mimi. I won't say it's my favorite mini-series but I do watch it when it comes on because of Blythe Danner's performance. If you are a fan of her daughter, then you will understand how Blythe Danner has become one of the finest Ameican actresses around whether stage, film or television. She does her job magnificently. I wasn't happy about the ending of the story but it's true so you can't change anything there but if you want to see Gwyneth Paltrow make an impression than you should watch this mini-series. Even as a minor role as Angela, she makes an impression.

This is one mini series that follows the book very closely. The problem is that they are both full of stuff and nonsense. In his book "Cruel Doubt" Joe Mcginnis invents a connection between the D&D training scenario "Your First Game" and the murder of Leith Von Stein. The training game was, according to Mcginnis, used a blueprint for murder. He even uses a synopsis of the training game and compares it item by item to the crime. The problem is that it is all made up. The training game has only one point in common with his description of it, the name of a single character. The mini series takes this even further by fabricating photographic evidence. The mini series displays a photograph that is supposed to resemble the murderer in the act and represents it as being a page from the AD&D PLAYERS HANDBOOK. The picture does not exist in that book at all. Mcginnis says in a foreward that he took up the commission to write the book in part to help Bonnie Von Stein get some answers to the troubling events surrounding the attack on her and Leith that left her husband dead and her seriously wounded. Any careful study of the D&D materials and the claims made in this book and movie will demonstrate that the "connection" between D&D and this crime was limited to the simple fact that the conspirators met at college because they had a common interest in the AD&D game and nothing more. Simple greed was the motive for this horrendous crime. Whatever doubts Bonnie Von Stein has cruel or otherwise must remain. This movie could have told a better story if it had told the truth. As pure fiction "Cruel Doubt" has some merit. It can be moderately entertaining if taken with a generous helping of salt.