Comme une ombre dans la nuit

Once it started rolling I forgot this is a TV movie, until I chanced upon the IMDb page and started reading the comments. I'm very surprised to see a few very negative comments about this film. It may not be the perfect supernatural thriller or mystery story, but it's got great acting and some beautiful actresses, which let's face it, does help, and I'm not talking about supermodel, centerfold kinds of looks. (For those interested in men, they aren't bad either. Well, most of them.) It is of course about a psychic woman, but only touches upon the supernatural and does not run away with it. It has a villain, a serial killer, but keeps you guessing at who he, or she, may be. And unlike so many stories set in America's Bible Belt, you can't tell the good and bad guys based on their religiosity, their gods. It does confront, somewhat in passing, many grave societal issues, including child abuse, religious violence, gender inequality, and others, without being overly dramatic or moralizing.

This movie is a breath of fresh air, made with care not only about the writing, the dialog, but also a care to avoid the clichés that make most TV movies so pedestrian and predictable.

I never read the book, so it could well be superior. All I know is, Carolina Moon ain't bad at all.

This film is based on the Nora Roberts novel of the same name. I have to confess that I do have a soft spot for her TV movie adaptations, I particularly liked Midnight Bayou, Tribute, and Northern Lights. If you've seen any of these then you roughly know what to expect.

In Carolina Moon Stephen Tolkin tells the story of Victoria Bodeen and her psychic ability of second sight. When Victoria "Tory" Bodeen was young her life was a mixture of good and bad. The good was her best friend Hope and the adventures they had in the local woods. The bad was her religious zealot of a father, who saw Tory's psychic gift as a curse. One that needed beating out of her. One nighttime, Tory was meant to meet Hope in the woods, though her father had whipped her so bad that she failed to make their rendezvous. Suddenly her gift kicks in and she has to watch helplessly as her best friend is killed. Worse yet, it's through the eyes of the killer. Her father moves the family away a few weeks later and Tory leaves them as soon as she can. Eighteen years later and she's returned to her hometown to try and find peace from the ghosts and memories that have plagued her. It's not long before Tory is having visions of other murdered girls... do these have something to do with Hope's murder? Is her killer still out there? Are they still active?

Tolkin does a splendid job of casting suspicion onto just about everybody in this film and that is where its strength lies. I had a good idea of who did it, and I was correct, though I was thrown off the trail more than once by other possibilities. As for the direction, Tolin doesn't do pretty or interesting, though there were plenty of opportunities to enthrall us. However, he stays to the standard point- and-shoot style of most TV movies. Sometimes it's nice to have a sweeping shot or an interesting angle. The pace of the film is in keeping with the style; generally, the film has a steady and even pace. Tolkin does speed it up a little to create a little tension near the climax of the film when the killer is revealed. More suspension and tension wouldn't have gone amiss with the psychic visions and the daughter and father scenes - this would have shown her distrust and terror of the man.

For the most part, the acting is above average and though I do like Claire Forlani her fake southern accent does start to irritate, though her acting is on par. It's Oliver Hudson who could win the Redwood prize in this film as there are more than a few scenes where his acting is wooden. It's Jacqueline Bisset, Shaun Johnston, and Josie Davis who are the strongest and most believable in their characters which make this movie stronger. In fact, Johnston as the Bible Bashing and Daughter whipping father is so realistic and believable I wanted to hit him myself.

I would recommend this to everyone as it's a good film about youth, friendship, overcoming loss, and rebuilding relationships. All of that tied up in a whodunit murder mystery with a paranormal twist. I did enjoy the film though I'm not sure I would purposefully watch it again... but who can say, it does have Claire Forlani in it...

I loved this movie even more than reading the book! The acting was good, and the plot kept me in suspense throughout the movie. The special effects made the movie even more suspenseful.

The setting was beautiful, and all of the characters were played well, although I have to admit, I hope I never meet anyone like a few of the characters in this movie. I don't know how Nora Roberts keeps coming up with fresh new stories so frequently, but I think Carolina Moon is one of her best stories.

This was a high quality, well done movie. It seems more like a movie you would see at a theater rather than on TV.

Definitely worth watching.

No way did this feel like the usual TV movie. This movie was so exciting. And the directing wasn't like TV. It was like a movie. Everything moved so fast and you could feel the heat and the sunshine. And acting was just awesome Faith and Tory and Wade and Cade, they were all amazing, and the best part is the director and the writer actually made it funny the way Nora Roberts is when you read her. I loved the part where a certain character (don't want to do any spoilers here) got in a car crash and Tory was seeing it in her head--awesome, I practically jumped out of my chair it was so tense. Ten stars!! I can't wait to see it again. Nora Roberts should be proud.

Fantastic portrayal of a Nora Roberts novel which had me spellbound from the very beginning of this film to the very end. This film captures your attention on two very young girls swimming in a lake and one of the girls, Claire Forlani,(Tori),"Hooligans", has the ability to see visions in her head that tell her deep dark things that have happened or going to happen. Oliver Hudson,(Cade Lavelle) and Josie Davis,(Faith Lavelle) both give great supporting roles along with Jacqueline Bisset,( Margaret). There is some torrid love scenes involving Faith Lavelle along with a few laughs and bad child abuse scenes which happened to Tori when she was very young. This is a first Class Nora Roberts TV film and is definitely not your routine television entertainment. FIRST CLASS Enjoy