Voleuse d'identité

...the more they stay the same. At least as far as Lifetime movies go. I mean, really, how many times have we seen this movie before? An obsessed woman wants to take over another woman's life. Gee, that's original. Or it might have been, maybe, in 2015. But since then, if not before, this formula has been used over and over again.

The only interesting thing to watch for here is how many times it is obvious that this was made in Canada. The main character's web page describes her as a "defence" attorney. The subtitles indicate she is cutting a "cheque" to the crazy woman. The jury ruled in "favour" of the defendant. And so on.

I will give LMN some credit for showing an older one of their movies, though. If you look at their schedule every week, you will see they show the same rotation of their more recent movies over and over again. It's nice that they throw in one of their older movies in there once in a while. Even if it is a clunker like this one.

Oh, and I like Josie Davis better when she plays the bad guy. She's better at that than just about any other regular actor in Lifetime movies.

This typical LMN plot has been done over and over again. Same theme, same unexpected psycho killer befriending our hero or heroine, same predictable outcome and same "yea" ending. The difference here is the casting of Josie Davis and Sebastian Spence in leading roles. I like these actors very much and they bring mediocre dialogue to believable performances. However, the remaining actors don't do much to add to the excitement. Davis and Spence are acting alone here. Too bad. Still the story keeps you interested and you can't wait for the villain to get the ax.

I give this one several stars for performances by Davis and Spence, two very fine actors. I also like Marc Menard.

When 2 ladies bond after a fender bender a lawyer becomes the object of obsession of a writer.

Josie Davis is in lots of Lifetime movies and she is quite watchable as the lawyer. The stalker is good too - normal looking enough. Interesting how she dispatches those in her way.

A deranged woman escapes from her apparent mental hospital and runs away in slow motion. Quickly, she stabs the bed where another woman is screaming, and buries her victim. Seventy-two hours earlier, wealthy blonde lawyer Josie Davis (as Heather Williams) wins an important court case and receives a promotion at her law firm. While out celebrating with her ethnically-cast friend, the beautiful Ms. Davis meets handsome blond investigator Marc Menard (as Jack Riley). They are mutually attracted. An oilier version of Mr. Menard appears and tries to get Davis' attention. He's her obsessive ex-boyfriend Sebastian Spence (as Ray Johnson)...

As if that wasn't enough to take the wind out of Davis' sails, she gets into a fender-bender with the woman from the opening minutes, psycho killer Caroline Cave (as Vanessa Miller)...

"Accidental Obsession" aka "Hit & Run" is incredibly predictable, but attractively cast and presented. Many of these unhinged psycho TV movies like to open with a attention grabbing teaser. The attention is heightened, but there is certainly no surprise when Ms. Cave makes her appearance. We know something is up, anyway, but a little more mystery would have been welcome. Toby Gorman's flexible photography and David Findlay's smooth score help keep the senses satisfied. Davis and Cave are fine in their roles and manage to be engaging despite the story staying rather routine. This one never really goes off the rails, which would have been fun.

**** Accidental Obsession (2015-06-08) George Erschbamer ~ Josie Davis, Caroline Cave, Marc Menard, Sebastian Spence

Cave is a twisted girl-stalker whose obsession with lawyer Davis turns deadly. Creepy is an understatement as the diminutive Cave craves the lifestyle of the successful legal eagle, becoming increasingly unhinged but despite the sinister intentions, this Canadian TV psychological thriller is threadbare on plot.

Although imitative of 'Single White Female', there's only so many times a stalker hiding behind trees, peering forlornly through windows and maniacally stabbing pillows can be tolerated before it wears thin. Cave is scarily believable but her character needed better dialogue, whilst the storyline was cheated by a weak climax that lacked imagination.

Economical, brisk-paced telemovie is too superficial and lacking logic to be truly effective, but still possesses enough structure and suspense to be a passable matinee thriller.