Dirty Little Secret (1998)

No one stays silent forever

This TVM written and directed by Rob Fresco features some plot complications that raise it above the conventional kidnapping thriller. The petty criminals that Tracey Gold associates with are used to support her kidnap plot, are abandoned when she reveals her own agenda, but reintroduced later, and the unity of the parents of the child is also threatened by Gold's identity. Therefore we get a climax with 4 different antagonists, and divided interest between the kidnapped child and the ransom money. Fresco's teleplay provides one laugh line spoken by the mother -"They appear to be getting along ok", referring to Gold and the child, "I don't know if that makes me feel better or worse". Fresco displays the rich colors of autumn in Oregon, provides a funny horizontal split image of two people looking for each other, and gives the screaming of a boiling kettle contextual subtext. The teleplay only deteriorates with the character of Gold's boyfriend since it is written as the cliched insensitive hoodlum with lines like "I don't know what you're going through but I wish you'd get over it" and actor wearing the requisite hairdo, clothes and using the the Nu Jersey accent. Best of the performances is Mary Page Keller as the mother, since she is simple and direct. Gold is better than expected, though sometimes she falls back on face pulling, and her effort shows. Her much publicised battle with an eating disorder may explain her teeth, but her oddness fits the character and is otherwise appealing Fresco cleverly tries to accomodate Jack Wagner's acting limitations by making his father the local sheriff, where his concern can be concealed by police procedure, and with the suggestion that sociopathic tendencies make one inexpressive. July 7, 2001

More reviews at Amazon.com ...