I'm not quite sure why I rented this: probably because I was in a hurry to get my films and I was mildly (operative word: mildly) interested to learn more about this case. I expected the movie to be mediocre and basically a dramatization (with some embellishment, probably) of the actual story. The film tried to do a little better, but were it not a story "ripped from the headlines," I would have expected way, way more.
CLARA (Elizabeth Pena) was an orthodontist in a practice with her husband, David. After she finds out that he is having an affair with a recently divorced woman he hired at the practice, she forgives him and fires the woman. The two have what I would call a very "shaky reconciliation." She really wants her family back, but still does not trust him. When he tells her that he is going to meet with his former lover (LISA) at a local steakhouse, she doesn't believe him.
She has her detective, BOBBI (Sela Ward) (I told you she didn't trust him!) follow him, but instead, he goes to the hotel (where he married CLARA and where he sleeps with LISA.) Clara, very anxiously waiting at home for a call from BOBBI calls when she hears nothing. Bobbi tells her to be patient, but Clara hears the country band playing in the background -- the same country band that was playing when she and David had been there. Knowing immediately that David has taken his lover to the hotel, she races over there with her stepdaughter.
CLARA and her stepdaughter (David's daughter) approach the two getting off the elevator. CLARA attacks Lisa, ripping the front of her top open, while the daughter repeatedly hits her father. When the fight is broken off, David almost nonchalantly walks off with his mistress. That is CLARA'S breaking point and when she sees David outside, standing by the door of Lisa's van, she runs him down, then again and again and again.
So, while I felt empathy for her situation, I did NOT condone it nor think she should not have been sentenced to prison. It is just all very sad.
That said, the movie as a re-telling of events is okay. If it were a stand-alone movie, I would have called for much, much more to make it palatable. I would've wanted more character depth from David and a better understanding of why their marriage was failing. There were a few scenes where David felt left out when Clara appeared to be more interested in their small twin boys sleeping in the bed than David, but that's about it.
It's an okay film to pass the time. As my title says, it delivers what I expected. If you're looking for more than that, I'd keep on walking.
CLARA (Elizabeth Pena) was an orthodontist in a practice with her husband, David. After she finds out that he is having an affair with a recently divorced woman he hired at the practice, she forgives him and fires the woman. The two have what I would call a very "shaky reconciliation." She really wants her family back, but still does not trust him. When he tells her that he is going to meet with his former lover (LISA) at a local steakhouse, she doesn't believe him.
She has her detective, BOBBI (Sela Ward) (I told you she didn't trust him!) follow him, but instead, he goes to the hotel (where he married CLARA and where he sleeps with LISA.) Clara, very anxiously waiting at home for a call from BOBBI calls when she hears nothing. Bobbi tells her to be patient, but Clara hears the country band playing in the background -- the same country band that was playing when she and David had been there. Knowing immediately that David has taken his lover to the hotel, she races over there with her stepdaughter.
CLARA and her stepdaughter (David's daughter) approach the two getting off the elevator. CLARA attacks Lisa, ripping the front of her top open, while the daughter repeatedly hits her father. When the fight is broken off, David almost nonchalantly walks off with his mistress. That is CLARA'S breaking point and when she sees David outside, standing by the door of Lisa's van, she runs him down, then again and again and again.
So, while I felt empathy for her situation, I did NOT condone it nor think she should not have been sentenced to prison. It is just all very sad.
That said, the movie as a re-telling of events is okay. If it were a stand-alone movie, I would have called for much, much more to make it palatable. I would've wanted more character depth from David and a better understanding of why their marriage was failing. There were a few scenes where David felt left out when Clara appeared to be more interested in their small twin boys sleeping in the bed than David, but that's about it.
It's an okay film to pass the time. As my title says, it delivers what I expected. If you're looking for more than that, I'd keep on walking.