Review by vchimpanzee

At the beginning of the movie, Amanda is being arrested for murder. Through flashbacks we learn of the circumstances, and the movie goes back and forth between the present and the past. Amanda tells her lawyer she didn't do it, but she is not very helpful in keeping herself out of prison--or possibly death row.

Amanda was only 14 when her stepfather asked her to do something she didn't want to do, and when her mother blamed her, she soon felt her only option was to run away. Once she ended up broke and alone in another town, Billy came to her rescue with a job no 14-year-old should have. Soon Amanda needed rescuing again, and Mark, divorced with children, proved to be her knight in shining armor. But things did not improve for Amanda, and we know something terrible eventually happened.

Juliette Lewis did a better than average job, showing a range of emotions and dimensions to the troubled Amanda character. I don't know that I saw the potential for the respected actor Brad Pitt became, but maybe there was something there.

It's a real shame this was based on a true story. No teen should have to go through what Amanda did. Still, maybe showing the circumstances of her life will help others in her situation.