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6.4/10
895
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A pastor and his wife adopt a brother and a sister, but the girl has terrible outbursts of rage. They get her in treatment and try to find out the reason for this.A pastor and his wife adopt a brother and a sister, but the girl has terrible outbursts of rage. They get her in treatment and try to find out the reason for this.A pastor and his wife adopt a brother and a sister, but the girl has terrible outbursts of rage. They get her in treatment and try to find out the reason for this.
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- Awards
- 2 wins total
George D. Wallace
- Henry
- (as George Wallace)
Louis Dupuis
- Johnny
- (uncredited)
Christine Willes
- Teacher
- (uncredited)
- Director
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This MFTV movie is based on a true story of Beth (Cat) and her brother John (Eric), whose mother died when Beth was one year old. They were adopted by a religious couple when Beth was 19 months old and John was an infant. The story of the abuse and neglect suffered at the hands of her birth father after the mother died and before they were adopted is mostly true, but the story was produced for television so keep that in mind.
For those interested, read the true story of Beth's experience in the book entitled "Dandelion on My Pillow, Butcher Knife Beneath It" by Nancy Thomas. Beth herself is quoted in the book and helps to tell her own true story. It is not solely a book about Beth, but contains other even more fascinating stories of real children who lived on Nancy's therapeutic ranch in Colorado.
These kids killed and/or tortured animals, murdered someone in their own family, and one was even a serial rapist.
Having read the book, I found and just re-viewed for the first time since it was aired on HBO a video of the special, "Child of Rage: A Story of Abuse" done by Ken Magid. The film, although brilliant, was misleading, according to Nancy and Beth. By the time filming took place, Beth had lived with Nancy for some time and had substantially healed from "baby Beth's" ordeal and was well on her way to recovery. Her interview was a testament to the progress she had already made, and she was simply reciting factually the past events when Dr. Magid explored the incidents with her. Her behavior by then had permanently improved and she was neither violent in any way nor displayed any kind of behavioral problem.
Nancy and her husband were under the impression that they would keep Beth as their own, but the religious adoptive parents had other plans for Beth. Under the guise of a visit to their home on the east coast, the adoptive couple instead put Beth with an Aunt for a while and then turned Beth over to a program created especially for Beth and others like her when the facility was completed. Both Nancy's family and Beth were devastated. Later, the adoptive parents legally abandoned her altogether; however, the setback didn't revert Beth to violence and, in fact, the facility said they had never witnessed any kind of malevolent behavior out of Beth since she was put there.
By the time Nancy and her husband found out where Beth was, they immediately discovered that Beth had been abandoned and rapidly moved to adopt her.
At the writing of Nancy's book, Beth was a college student and said that Beth is a beautiful, happy and completely recovered woman. Thankfully we have people like Nancy out there.
For those interested, read the true story of Beth's experience in the book entitled "Dandelion on My Pillow, Butcher Knife Beneath It" by Nancy Thomas. Beth herself is quoted in the book and helps to tell her own true story. It is not solely a book about Beth, but contains other even more fascinating stories of real children who lived on Nancy's therapeutic ranch in Colorado.
These kids killed and/or tortured animals, murdered someone in their own family, and one was even a serial rapist.
Having read the book, I found and just re-viewed for the first time since it was aired on HBO a video of the special, "Child of Rage: A Story of Abuse" done by Ken Magid. The film, although brilliant, was misleading, according to Nancy and Beth. By the time filming took place, Beth had lived with Nancy for some time and had substantially healed from "baby Beth's" ordeal and was well on her way to recovery. Her interview was a testament to the progress she had already made, and she was simply reciting factually the past events when Dr. Magid explored the incidents with her. Her behavior by then had permanently improved and she was neither violent in any way nor displayed any kind of behavioral problem.
Nancy and her husband were under the impression that they would keep Beth as their own, but the religious adoptive parents had other plans for Beth. Under the guise of a visit to their home on the east coast, the adoptive couple instead put Beth with an Aunt for a while and then turned Beth over to a program created especially for Beth and others like her when the facility was completed. Both Nancy's family and Beth were devastated. Later, the adoptive parents legally abandoned her altogether; however, the setback didn't revert Beth to violence and, in fact, the facility said they had never witnessed any kind of malevolent behavior out of Beth since she was put there.
By the time Nancy and her husband found out where Beth was, they immediately discovered that Beth had been abandoned and rapidly moved to adopt her.
At the writing of Nancy's book, Beth was a college student and said that Beth is a beautiful, happy and completely recovered woman. Thankfully we have people like Nancy out there.
Ashley Peldon is frighteningly real as "Cat" a child who grew up abused and molested, who is then adopted by Mel Harris and Dwight Schultz. Despite their love and attention, the child gets worse (the scene where she abuses the family dog is rather chilling).
Harris learns that the child had a less than ideal upbringing; again this brings up the nature/nurture debate. Harris finally encounters a therapist (Mariette Hartley) who theorizes that the rage must be tapped into, to find the source of the child's pain.
What is interesting and valuable about this Lifetime movie is that it addresses a particular pathology, how the parents attempt to deal with it, and how the health care and/or social work system cannot or will not.
Mariette Hartley, whose father committed suicide (in real life) is very credible as the therapist, discussing rage and denial issues. With problems such as this, it seems society has only begun to skim the surface. 8/10.
Harris learns that the child had a less than ideal upbringing; again this brings up the nature/nurture debate. Harris finally encounters a therapist (Mariette Hartley) who theorizes that the rage must be tapped into, to find the source of the child's pain.
What is interesting and valuable about this Lifetime movie is that it addresses a particular pathology, how the parents attempt to deal with it, and how the health care and/or social work system cannot or will not.
Mariette Hartley, whose father committed suicide (in real life) is very credible as the therapist, discussing rage and denial issues. With problems such as this, it seems society has only begun to skim the surface. 8/10.
The good son and child of rage are the same movie, only this is the good daughter, but this girl was abused by a drunken tyrant of a father. Maybe they should tell us what little Cathrine grew up to be. If everyone were like her, all the jails would be full. I want information on how that girl's doing, since this was a true story and all. YES, it is a chick flick, so what? Lifetime is a women's network. I hope her sessions worked out OK, and I hope her brother isn't afraid of her anymore. Unlike the good son, her mom doesn't drop her off a cliff. Child of rage is boring, but parents really need to see it and get help for their raging kids.
Our children are like our most precious natural resource. We live in a society that is so hardened and callous in so many ways, but crimes against children is still something that hits us right in the gut and sickens our soul as a people and as a nation. Child Of Rage may be one of the hardest films to watch, but you need to watch it. It is hard-hitting and realistic and based on a true story. People have often spoken about how Hollywood is so cynical about religion of any kind. They usually portray "church people" as corrupt crazy or both. I like that fact that in this tv film, a minister and his wife who adopt these two children are portrayed as the most wonderful people. They are good and kind and loving and nothing is presented that would suggest otherwise. Mel Harris is a fine actress who never has gotten just credit. She is wonderful as this loving woman who tries to reach this tortured little girl who has been thru hell. People who only know Dwight Shultz for his role as that crazy pilot on that stupid and ridiculous tv show "The A-Team" would really be shocked if they could see his wonderful and sensitive performance as a true man of God in this film. The best scene for him is in the end when he gives a sermon about children in pain and talks of his own ordeal. It is a truly moving speech indeed. It would take someone utterly without a heart not to be moved by it. There are so many other real-life Catherines in this world who are abused and tortured and hurt and this film makes you realize that. I had never heard of the little actress who plays Catherine in this film, but she is incredible. you feel so bad for her, but it is also chilling how cruel she is when she attacks her little brother and tries to stab her parents, when she stabs the family dog, throws fits, attacks a classmate and fondles her poor grandfather. You just want to look away watching this but cannot. Mariette Hartley is a wonderful actress and gives a great performance as an understanding psychiatrist. The scenes in this film that are hardest to watch are when they use the "holding" technique with the little girl. Where they hold her and make her explode in rage. It is sort of like watching The Exorcist the way she acts. This is a first-rate tv film with fine performances all around. It may not be a pleasant story to watch, but it is one that needs to be told. I felt so bad for little Catherine and I wondered how she turned out in the end if she was ever able to live a normal life. The little actress who played her made her seem so real to me that it haunted me long after the final credits. I guess that is the greatest compliment you could pay an actor. They need to make this film available on video or DVD.
The hammy acting, the artistic license taken with the story, the goody-two shoes couple who are so full of Christian love, they won't give up on their demonic brat, Cat. The almost-murders (accompanied by "tension" music), the cheesy strip club (with one of the background strippers decked out in a grandma bikini) and the ummm...oh yes, the kids who scream a lot. This film is tedious.
Did you know
- TriviaFor this biopic adaptation, some real-life incidents had to be cut out of the film due to its disturbing and graphic moments. Ones such as Eric also being a victim of sexual abused by both his biological father and by his sister, as well as Cathrine's daily masturbation habits (even in public places) had to be omitted.
- ConnectionsFeatures Les voyages de Gulliver (1939)
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By what name was L'enfant de la colère (1992) officially released in Canada in English?
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