Até que o Crime os Separe

Betty Broderick worked hard as a wife, and Mother, and got a raw deal when her husband of 16 years, Dan, left her for his young, pretty, secretary (Linda). He finally asked for a divorce, and this was the beginning of the end. A betrayed Betty went on the war path, and made Dan's life miserable, which led to her shooting and killing him, and his new bride, Linda. She worked hard for years supporting Dan when he was in law school, and raised their 4 children as well. Excellently portrayed by Meredith Baxter, this movie was fabulous. Part II, her Final Fury, the last chapter was also an excellent movie!

I am sitting here reading these comments and I am appalled. To all of the people who are writing Dan Broderick got what was coming to him. What is wrong with you? What if your son, daughter, sister, brother, mother, and father got murdered in their sleep because they angered someone. Are you even looking at the fact that she called and harassed them every day. Think about it... would you seriously give your ex more money & custody of the kids if they 1.) Ran a door into your house with the kids inside, not even knowing where they were. 2.) Broken into your house not 1 but two times and destroyed everything. 3.) cursed and used profanity at your 9 year old child. No you wouldn't. So he left her BOO HOO! It's a sad day in the world when you justify killing somebody because they made you mad.

I think she had every right to do what she did. Dan put her through hell and I think she was at a breaking point and didn't know what else to do. I give her credit for at least turning herself in. That took guts. Way to go Betty!!! My heart goes out to you!!!!!!!!

This is my favorite "Lifetime" movie of all time, from a production period when the movies were about real crime events and the ensuing trials with quality stars, not the cheesy mass-produced drivel they churn out now. Told in the similar format as a flashback/courtroom docu-drama style of The Tracey Thurmond Story and The Burning Bed, this stars Meredith Baxter and a pre-scandal Stephen Collins, and as a true crime genre and forensic psychology lover, let me tell you, Baxter KILLS it. If you watch interviews with the real Betty Broderick, you will see how Baxter masters her self-deluded, persecution complex, functionally crazy personality. It was probably the best TV movie performance I've ever seen. In real life, Betty Broderick had a lot of supporters and this movie explores that, leaving room for the viewer to make up their own mind. It seems to present things from both sides' fairly--neither party is portrayed as a saint: she did sacrifice everything to make her husband successful and he did seem to trade her in for a newer model when he made it to the top, but the creators still tilt the viewer to the fact that's still not an excuse for murder. There's also the follow-up sequel that covers the court battle, portrayed from the prosecutor's perspective, which is also enjoyable. This is truly a based-on-a-true-story TV movie classic.

Meredith Baxter gives a superb performance in this film and its sequel. She captures the cold narcissism of Betty Broderick and manages to play scenes of rage in a surprisingly subtle manner. For example, in the scene in which Betty trashes her ex-husband's house, Meredith approaches the destruction with great nonchalance, which is ultimately more frightening than if she had played it full-on. She taps into the smugness and sense of entitlement that were strong components of Betty Broderick's personality and allowed her to murder two people in cold blood.