L'empreinte de la folie

"Killing In A Small Town" looked every bit as ordinary as a regular made for TV fare but as the story unfolds; with the first frame of Barbara Hershey as Candice Morrison defining her sense of self to a therapist; you are instantly hooked until the end credits roll. Accused of her murderous crime in a small middle American town, Candice or Candy was initially in shock and subsequent denial. But as the horror washed over the community and all evidence point toward the mousy housewife, she starts to unravel albeit in calm revelation. Barbara Hershey is definitely one of the most underrated actress of her era, her portrayal of a strong, self- controlled, stoic yet sensitive and vulnerable woman make her a character of infinite contradiction. She pulled out all the stops in her courtroom scenes on cross examination and her hypnosis session with a doctor is unforgettably chilling. When Candice was on the stand recounting the day of the murder, the scene plays out ordinarily and then take a turn for the macabre when Peggy (victim) accused Candice of having an affair with her husband. Peggy then goes back to kitchen to fetch an axe and begins to taunt Candy. The two of them had words and then a fight ensues. Candy was desperately trying to get away but finally she turns the table and hacks Peggy over 41 timesin self defense. The entire scene was riveting like your inability to look away from a car wreck. An American tragedy played with unrelenting passion by Barbara Hershey who incidentally won an Emmy and Golden Globe for her searing performance.

One of my all time favorite books and one of the best TV movies besides The Deliberate Stranger about Ted Bundy starring Mark Harmon. Very haunting murder case, a mother is brutally murdered in her laundry room while her baby cries in its crib down the hall. The small mundane Texas town was turned upside down with the swing of an ax.

A small town in Texas is in shock after a school teacher is found murdered in her home, whacked 41 times with an ax. Thanks to a plethora of physical evidence, the police soon suspect her friend Candy Morrison (Barbara Hershey). Candy admits she had an affair with the woman's husband (John Terry), but when it comes to trial her lawyer (Brian Dennehy) decides to plead self defense. WOW! This true crime TV movie is absolutely captivating. A big part of that is because of Hershey in the lead role. Already a lauded leading lady in theatrical features, she must have felt compelled to the juicy role in order to move to a TV movie after the success of Beaches (1988). She is absolutely stunning in the lead role (a bit where she is hypnotized by a psychologist played by Hal Holbrook is downright frightening) and she ended up winning both a Golden Globe and Emmy for this performance. Of course, the way the story unfolds is also part of the film's success as the teleplay writers peel back layer after layer. It builds perfectly to the shocking finale where we see the murder as Candy says it happened and the findings of the jury. Director Stephen Gyllenhaal (yes, father of Jake and Maggie) handles it all with the skill of a theatrical feature. A great example of his direction is one long take where the coroner describes the victims wounds while walking around the body and the camera just focuses on his hands; we never see the body in close up, but the description brings up such extreme detail in the minds of viewers.

I don't know why actor Dennehy is pictured on the poster. True, he's got a feature role that he brings off well. But the film's really a Barbara Hershey showcase. It's she who has to do the dramatic heavy lifting, going from placid housewife to raging inner person. For the ex-Ms Seagull, it's a thespic tour-de-force. Her wife-mother seems so well adjusted, church, family, community, her smile so real. But then, she initiates an affair with a friend's husband, so we know she doesn't always repress her desires. So just how placid is she, really.

The shots of a barren Texas landscape are aptly conceived, mirroring Candy's (Hershey) unchanging demeanor, at least initially. But then her friend turns up dead, slaughtered in gruesome fashion, and we know the landscape is not as predictable as it seems. Hershey's perfect for the part, her youthful good looks beginning to fade into middle-age. Director Gyllenhaal's camera is riveted to her face, catching every nuance, in this gripping study of morbid psychology. No, I don't think the movie suits all tastes since it's really disturbing at a number of points. Still, it remains a fascinating case study, based on a factual occurrence. Too bad IMDb doesn't supply more of those factual details. Nonetheless, I'm glad to stumble across this obscure gem and it's two memorable last lines that sort of sum up the movie's ironic moral.

How is it a mild-mannered, small town woman can hack her best friend to death with an axe and say she's not guilty? This startling, disturbing, gripping TV-movie provides the answer in amazing fashion, thanks to Barbara Hershey's flawless acting and Stephen Gyllenhaal's taut, vivid direction (this is a director who loves molding an atmosphere for his characters, making their surroundings as perplexing and eerie as they are). The murder sequence (told well in flashback) is not sensationally presented, yet it had me glued to the screen. Hershey is further complimented by an excellent supporting cast. What an amazing job this is!