Autopsie d'un crime

This has to be the best TV Movie ever created. Directed by the same guy who directed Xanadu....[??? How's that possible? He also directed WALMART: the High Cost of Low Prices, too] His direction of The Burning Bed is superb, to say the least.

You really feel as though her fear and terror are your own through claustrophobic cinematography in the scenes where she's being attacked. The dignity the cast and director were able to conjure for this sad story is far better than television deserves. The violence she imparts upon her husband gives her no satisfaction for she is not a malicious or vengeful woman.

I believe this movie has inspired countless women to leave abusive relationships since the first day it aired and more so as time has passed. Through it's ability to reach such a wide audience and it's star power, the attention it drew to the issue of battered women could be considered nothing less than a milestone.

I have seen this movie many times and still it has an effect on me. I have read the book and I can say that the movie does stick closely to the book regarding the events in Francine's life. Of course, they can not fit 12 years of abuse into a 2 hour film and so there are many events that are not included in the movie. Also another major fact missing from the movie is the children. In real life Mickey and Francine had four children, in the movie, there is only three. Why I think that happened is on the night that Francine did kill Mickey, her third child (son Dana) was not at home and at a friend's house. When she drove to the police station, she only had three of the children in the car with her.

Francine's mother did herself suffer from violence (but not to the extent of Francine's abuse) Her mother didn't approve of the abuse but only that Francine had to at least try and live with it. Francine had literally no where to go. She had four children with Mickey and no matter where she went, he would found her. As someone pointed out, Mickey was the only man who abuse his wife in his family. There were three other brothers in the Hughes household and not one of them, hit their wife. In fact, Mickey's mother was a very strong women and his father didn't abuse his mother either. His family were always there to help Francine and they were the ones that she would go to during the early years. Towards the end, they were getting old themselves and couldn't handle Mickey's violence and told her, not to come running to them anymore. The mother did a complete turn around at the court case and said that Mickey never abused Francine at all.

Just to make the ending a bit more understanding. When Francine came home from school that day on 7th March 1977. She took the children to go shopping. When they came back from the shopping, that is when the abuse started. Mickey didn't like what Francine had brought and it started from that. He then was telling her that she would have to quit school and she wouldn't agree. He started to beat her and nearly strangled her. He made her burn her books. Francine went out to burn the books and when she came back into the house, he asked her again, are you going to quit school and she replied. No Mickey, I am still going. That is when all the abuse, really started. The children called the police. The police came and had a talk with Mickey. It was after they left and half an hour later when Francine and the kids were sitting to have dinner, that is when Mickey came back into the kitchen and started to beat Francine again. He then made her have sex with him. It was after all of that and when he finally went to sleep, that is when Francine lost it and burned the bed.

A must read book, to truly understand the movie but also saying that, the movie does stick to the book, as best as it could.

I grew up in Dansville and was very familiar with what happened there with Francine and the Hughes house. As a teenager, I couldn't really comprehend the psychological damage that was being done to her on top of the domestic violence. As an adult, and as a wife and mother myself now, it's shattering to watch again. To watch and know that it didn't even seem to cause an eyelash to twitch to some of the people she confided in. They knew. They accepted. They complied. I cannot imagine all of the pain beyond the physical that this woman suffered during those horrific years of her life. I was glad to know that she moved far away from the toxicity she had found herself in and was able to restart and reclaim her life and the lives of her children.

As for the film, Farrah Fawcett is simply brilliant. The directing is of a caliber that literally makes you feel as though you're in Francine's shoes. Sure, it's been associated with starting the Lifetime Movie of the Week trend but it is a Gold Standard that they wish they could live up to.

You know, most people who have not lived through domestic violence may see this film as yet another "man beating his wife" story but I grew up with domestic violence. It is a painful and scary way to develop into a young woman. So I took this story very personally. I believed it to be very realistic and and shocking. A mother who condones the abuse is all too common on both sides of each character. It happens more often then most people think. Women have been taught for years to put up with their husbands demands and you will find that it is usually the mothers in these situations that ask their daughter or daughter in laws to be quiet about the beatings. Police officers, twenty years ago barely arrested the perpetrators. They let most men go back to their wives to punish them further. It was a vicious cycle until the late 80's when women officers became more common. Psychology classes on DV became mandatory for officers so they could understand the victim/perpretator situation and learn how to get the wife out.

I have read many comments about this film and yes, it is old, a little outdated and stark but the message is clear. The way they handled the situation with the children was amazing. All of that is all too common. Children witnessing violence. I would ask every viewer of this film to be more sensitive to this true story. Imagine being humiliated in front of your children, uneducated and trying to be the wife that society tells you be. Both men and woman should absorb this film and really think about how far we've come since the days of the "rule of thumb." Don't just say this is a chick flick and write it off as many have done. Even if you don't enjoy the wonderful performances, the truth of this film should rock you into some sort of reality.

As a child who grew up in an abusive home I remember watching this movie when I was about 7 or 8 and being able to identify with everything from the lack of family support (or acknowledgment that there was even something wrong) to the total disregard from law enforcement. This is an excellent film that displays the hell women have experienced (and are still continuing to experience) at the hands of abusive tyrants.

Francine Hughes is the personification of strength and may God bless her!!