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I am a "True Crime Snob". LOL. I don't watch made for TV movies, which are intentionally changed in subtle and not-so-subtle ways for maximum viewer entertainment, which, to me, makes them something a writer dreamed up. Think "The Burning Bed" or "Small Sacrifices", both changed by the writers for entertainment purposes. I prefer to watch the "Dateline, Primetime, Forensic Files" versions of the actual crimes. This case is still so new that it is, and was, easy to follow and get the real facts about the case. I probably would have liked the documentary that followed if it was a real documentary and not part of the movie.
I am a bit of a true crime snob myself - Anne Rule was a good writer at a point. I enjoyed the literary incarnations of "Small Sacrifices" and "Stranger Beside Me."
Rule does what she does best in these two books. She conjectures - and she does it well. Some might argue that what she wrote in both books, especially the book about Diane Downes, may have crossed the line into "creative non-fiction", since there was no way that Rule could have known what Downes was thinking on the night before her arrest.
When Truman Capote wrote "In Cold Blood", in his own words he had created "a new form of reprtage" But what ever you may think of Capote and his motives, he was a great writer.
Sometimes I do enjoy some "mind candy".And in the late eighties there was a plethora of True Crime Made for TV movies that in my estimation, were well made and not sensationalistic.
I thought that the movie about Laurie Dann (portrayed by Valerie Bertinelli) was well crafted.
I also enjoyed the sad story of Cheryl Pierson, The Long Island cheer leader, who after years of brutal molestation of her father hired a homeroom hit man to kill her father.
Honestly there were so many more.
I hope that the genre makes a comeback because it sure beats "19 kids and Counting"
pr "Dancing With the Stars" IMHO
I watched it! It was pretty good for a Lifetime movie, but I almost felt like they skimmed over too much... one second he's a successful medical student, and the next second he's a killer? They briefly touched on the strained relationship with his family, but never went any farther with that - so I was left wondering about that situation, and whether it led to his emotional issues. They also hinted at a mental illness (like when his vision would go blurry & he'd get shaky), but again didn't give any real details on that. So I'd give it maybe a 6.5/10, even though it was fairly interesting and entertaining. Oh, and the irritating camera work brought it down a notch, since my eyes were hurting after the "frenetic" scenes.
P.S. Is it just me, or did they only show one of two murders? I was very confused, because it seemed he only killed one woman - but then I remember them mentioning two victims. And did he kill or attack anyone PRIOR to meeting his fiancee? He had 16 pairs of panties under his bed, and we only got to see 3 (?) of his attacks, so I was wondering about the time-line. Maybe I just spaced out for a minute or something.
I DVR'd it and just finished watching it. I enjoyed it and it did remind me of those docudramas of the 80s and brought back memories of those cheesy movies. Sometimes cheesy is good!
I think they didn't delve too much into his past because he had no real relationship with his parents/family and they don't seem to be talking. The two books about the case don't have much of anything besides news accounts.
I watched it tonight. I think it's a pretty good made-for-TV-movie.
I agree that we really needed to know more about his relationship with his folks and brother.
I don't think I need to know more about his relationship to his family. It wasn't healthy---and there are many reasons --I've heard enough explanations and seen enough movies about all that goes wrong in life.
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