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This is a typical wife-abuse movie which is well acted. The main problem with this production is the casting of Jaclyn Smith. She does a creditable portrayal-however as an obviously intelligent individual, she has to portray someone who does highly illogical things that someone of her intellect wouldn't.

Unless you have walked that path of abuse it is really hard to say what is rational and what is not. I know from experience that all you do is try to escape and when there is no out because he comes after you every time then your mind begins to think of any means out for a normal life. It is sad when I read the comments of others about yelling HELP etc. because she did when she went to a shelter and asked his friends for help. The only thing to do is to look for red flags in a relationship and get out at the first sign of violence. She should have left when he threw the can at her but unless you know about abuse and violence you have no idea of what you are in for.

This woman was a horrific child abuser and murder that murdered her husband and then destroyed his reputation. Her own son wants nothing to do with her. This move was fictional in its' entirety. She was anything but a victim.

Typical battered wife movie overlooks the main point in that it offers virtually no corroboration for Donna Yaklich's supposed abuse at the hands of her husband, a decorated police officer, and instead attempts to justify her decision to hire two bumbling petty crooks to gun him down in cold blood by showing, well, nothing. A scene of the husband forcibly removing her from a battered woman shelter begs the question: did no one at the shelter make any attempt to notify the authorities that he had essentially assaulted and kidnapped her? Isn't that what shelters are for? Endless scenes of him lifting weights (and obviously not Brad Johnson) and steroid taking do little except pad out the running time. The story is obviously told from one point of view only, but then since the other point of view was gunned down by the first POV there isn't much to tell.

'Cries Unheard: The Donna Yaklich Story' (1994) is an American made-for-television drama film starring Jaclyn Smith as Donna Yaklich and Brad Johnson as Dennis Yaklich. The film's powerful themes of domestic violence and abuse are only let down by some tedious scenes.

The film is said to be based on a true story. However, Vanessa Yaklich, one of Dennis and Barbara's real children who is not present in this film, has spoken out about the supposed veracity of the story as she stated that Donna's claims were an "outright lie." Whatever your own opinions about it, I find that the point of this film is about domestic abuse and how difficult it is for a woman to get her voice heard in a patriarchal society, especially during the period when this film was first released in 1994.

Some reviewers here on IMDB have also pointed out that there seems to be a plot hole in the fact that Donna could have done more to leave Dennis or reported him to the police or another agency. Dennis was an officer himself so she must have felt that the authorities would be on his side. Also, these reviewers fail to understand that Donna's real struggle is her fear, she was absolutely fearful of Dennis and what he would do to her or her sister if she left him. It was also a different world back then as reports of domestic abuse filed by women were not taken as seriously as they are now.

Whether you believe her or not, this is Donna's story and it is a profound and important testament to the traumatic, often violent, effects of domestic abuse. In my country of Malta, where domestic violence and femicides are on the increase, Donna's story is as important today as it was in 1994.