Au-dessus de tout soupçon

"Dead by Sunset" has a "Movie of the Week" look about itself. It is surprising to read some comments to IMDb as to the length of the movie, when it was a sort of mini-series on television to begin with. The film was shown on Starz Mystery recently. The fact it was based on a novel by Ann Rule we had read, made us watch it.

As directed by Karen Arthur, the film offers some good moments. The story is based on a real incident, that happened in Oregon. Since it was filmed on the original locations, "Dead by Sunset" offers some glorious views of Portland and its suburbs.

We are introduced to the Cunningham family. Right away, one realizes there's a problem with Brad, the intense husband of Cheryl, a lawyer with a major firm. Our suspicions are confirmed by a series of incidents staged by Brad in order to make his wife appear as a bad mother because she has custody of their three children.

When Sara, a doctor, is introduced to Brad by a mutual friend, she has no idea who this man is, or the role he will play in her life. Brad, who is a misogynist, has been brought up by his macho father to hate women and never to trust them. Brad's own mother was cut from his life and he has grown to resent her, which is the same contempt he feels for Cheryl, the mother of his three sons.

The film has some good moments because of the acting Ms. Arthur got from her cast. The three principals, Ken Olin, Annette O'Toole, and Lindsay Frost, make good appearances in the film.

This is a good movie. Even for a long movie. You can always find it on lifetime for women. I give this a 10/10. The husband was a complete nut and i'm glad he got caught. It was nice of his girlfriend to take care of the kids.

Evil Male character does great acting that I really enjoyed. Very believable acting, watched it a few times, and interesting court trial in the movie.

Although quite lengthy, it was well worthwhile watching. It held both my wife's and my attention to the end. The show ended at midnight, which is way past us old folk's bed time, so it had to be good. I wish it was available on VHS or DVD. I'd buy it right now. My wife talked about it all day at work.

I especially enjoyed this movie because it was set in the two areas in which I spent most of my adult life (Portland's west side and Lake Oswego). I recognized all of the settings and could personally relate to them. I especially enjoyed the acting of Mike Shinn who I know is very believable playing the part he played and also in the setting in which he played it. I find this to be one of my favorite suspense thrillers. The character played by Ken Olin, Brad Cunningham, in my opinion, was very well-portrayed; Any man who could do what HE did, would NOT be a man with warmth!!! The horrible way he was treated in his childhood made him the way he was. I feel this is a lesson for parents who may still be clueless not realizing the effect of their treatment of their children.