Maman disparue: L'histoire vraie de Jennifer Dulos

The movie about Jennifer Dulos, the Connecticut mother of five who vanished in 2019, falls short of expectations. While the real-life case is gripping and tragic, the film struggles to do it justice. The acting is average, and the storytelling lacks the emotional depth and suspense necessary to convey the complexity of the case, including the contentious custody battle and the investigation into her husband, Fotis Dulos. Overall, the true story is far more compelling than this lackluster adaptation. I suspect there's a 20/20 or Dateline documentary out there that is actually better. Oh well; made a decent snow day movie.

I can't stop watching and searching for any updates on this case. I feel like taking a year off from work to find her body. How about Folis' sister? Has her property been searched? Praying they find her so her family can rest in peace. Another search I would like them to do is the properties where he was working at the time? Can she been buried under cement like a basement? Driveway? I wonder if the investigators in Connecticut are like the ones in the movie with Eddie Murphy in Beverly hills cops. I can't understand how her body is still missing unless there is complete incompetence in the police and investigative force. Where are the updates.

Such a brilliant acting performed by Annabeth as a central heroin... She is really amazing... I was just feeling as she were Jennifer herself while watching the movie...

There's a real absence of dramatic tension here.

It feels like the story could have been told in 30 minutes. At around 90 minutes, the characters just amble along and events unfold so very slowly. It really feels like this goes on for hours and hours and hours. And it's such a boring and formulaic story, even if it is based on real events.

Relatively well done though the last 15 minutes lack spark. Sad story and fairly different from Dateline type coverage.

ABOUT MY REVIEWS:

I do not include a synopsis of the film/show -- you can get that anywhere and that does not constitute a meaningful review -- but rather my thoughts and feelings on the film that hopefully will be informative to you in deciding whether to invest 90-180 minutes of your life on it.

My scale: 1-5 decreasing degrees of "terrible", with 5 being "mediocre" 6- OK. Generally held my interest OR had reasonable cast and/or cinematography, might watch it again 7 - Good. My default rating for a movie I liked enough to watch again, but didn't rise to the upper echelons 8- Very good. Would watch again and recommend to others 9- Outstanding. Would watch over and over; top 10% of my ratings 10 - A classic. (Less than 2% receive this rating). For Lifetime Movies for Chicks (LMFC), drop the above scale by 3 notches. A 6 is excellent and 7 almost unattainable.