A Little Thing Called Murder

I love Judy Davis in almost anything she does, and absolutely was blown away by her performance in "Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows" a few years ago. And while I wasn't sure if it was necessary to re-tell this story that was done in 2001 with Mary Tyler Moore called "Like Mother Like Son: The Strange Story of Sante and Kenny Kimes" which was not a bad TV movie, this version was done well enough that it is a different kind of movie.

And as much as I love Judy, I felt like I was watching Judy Garland do this role, sort of like she was channeling Judy Garland playing Sante Kimes. It was totally watchable though, even though knowing it's a true story (at least the facts of the story) make it all the more interesting to watch.

I should have taped it though (yes, I'm still in the VCR world occasionally,) because I cannot stand the incessant and never-ending commercials on Lifetime...

Yes, it's easy to bash any LIFETIME movie. However, the film "A Little Thing Called Murder" should have been released to theaters. The film tells the true story of Sante Kimes, a flamboyant liar, con artist, manipulator and all-around evil witch. Sante is played by Judy Davis, who should win every possible acting award for this disturbing yet oddly funny black comedy. Sante leads her son, Kenny, (the criminally cute Jonathan Jackson) into a life of merciless horror. She conditions him and shapes his mind the minute he is born. The story of Sante and her son Kenny has been the source of various books and a movie, "Like Mother, Like Son" with Mary Tyler Moore as Sante. That film told the story in a serious and dramatic fashion. In a stroke of creative brilliance, director Richard Benjamin decided to present this material as outrageous and zany. It truly is; if you know the story, you'll know that nobody could come up with it from imagination. Sante is a ruthless, cunning, cold-hearted sociopath...but we see that she doesn't realize that what she does is wrong. She does things HER way and God help anybody who stands up to her. Sante and Kenny murder people, order arson on houses, scam several banks, steal cars, and Lie...Lie...LIE. Lies piled up on top of other lies. Judy Davis and Jonathan Jackson are both incredible in this movie, which manages- and delivers- chuckles in an otherwise grim story. Director Richard Benjamin took the absolute right-on approach with handling this mess of a story. KUDOS to all involved.

It might be hard to believe this story if it wasn't true. For the record, I'd never heard of any of this until I watched this, nor have I read the book. I cannot comment on how close this stays to the actual events. I understand that this is a comedy, and I suppose I can see how some, maybe even most, would find it funny. Not a single thing made me crack a hint of a smile in this, but then again, I do not have a great tolerance for unbelievably irritating and obnoxious women, and apart from this featuring that one from According to Jim who's being so is her sole "joke"(not that that show has a lot of hilarity going on anyway... I digress), the lead is also portraying one such individual. I don't blame the actress. In fact, let's clear that up right away: The performances are spot-on, everyone is credible, and Davis does marvelous. I would guess that the behavior is close to that of the real Sante, and *she* is the one I have the real beef with. The plot is interesting enough, and well-told. Pacing is good. The editing and cinematography are nice. This holds mild violence, disturbing content and a little sexuality. I recommend this to those who like films about con artists. 7/10

We're told that the Sante and Kenny Kimes is a true story. Not even Tennessee Williams would have dare to dream up a mother/son relationship like this one. Horribly funny. Monstruosly entertaining. Judy Davis is, quite simply, spectacular. Although Richard Benjamin (the director) seems to go for the campy aspects of this outrageous tale, Judy Davis keeps it rooted to some kind of illogical logic. Sante's madness is a first for the screen. Part Bette Davis, part Judy Garland but one hundred per cent Judy Davis. If that seems like an absurdity, look at the movie. Sante/Judy is in constant movement even when she's standing still. A fearless magnificent performance. If this little murder had been a big screen movie. Judy would, certainly, be nominated for an Oscar.

"A Little Thing Called Murder" is another TV movie about Sante and Kenny Kimes, the real-life mother and son con artist/murder team. The first film starred Mary Tyler Moore and focused mainly on the murder of Irene Silverman, the New York woman killed for her brownstone and whose body was never found. (Court TV also did a documentary on them.) In this version, the murder of Irene is at the end of the movie. Director Richard Benjamin takes us through the bizarre life of Sante, with each crime a new episode that begins with the title "A Little" - which is how Sante thought of her crimes - A Little Problem with the Maid (slavery), A Little Problem with the Check, etc.

Now in prison, Sante Kimes must be in life as over the top as depicted by Mary Tyler Moore - and if you thought Moore was outrageous, wait until you see Judy Davis sink her teeth into Sante. The approach in this film is more of dark comedy, though much of it is quite shocking. Davis' performance can only be described as out there - and probably accurate. Sante thoroughly corrupts her young son, played here by adorable Jonathan Jackson, which makes his crimes and killings all the more horrible. She sets fire to the family home for insurance; she takes a test drive in a car and holds onto it for a year; her Mexican help are actually slaves; she shoplifts, and when caught, she hits her son and goes after the security guard; the two claim to the cops that the security guard slapped Kenny and leave; she hides her husband's death so she can clean out his Bahamian bank accounts; and finally, of course, the Silverman case. In real life, not shown here, Sante actually posed as Silverman, an 82-year-old, in order to sign some papers.

Catch Davis performing "Santa Baby" with a boa and you'll know you've entered the twilight zone. She's a scream. The film is very well done, interesting, and intriguing. But don't look for motives or reasons. The writers deliberately didn't explore them. Sante is so nuts, though, one wonders if she hadn't lost sight of her original demons years earlier.