"The Plot to Kill My Mother" sought to depict the realities and the dangers of living in a witness protection program. At age 22, Teresa was the star witness in convicting her husband of various crimes on the rough streets of New Jersey. Lorenzo is sent away to prison, and Teresa is given a new name and a new life in Ohio, where she raises her daughter Elena.
Fast forward twenty-one years. Teresa is murdered when she takes the risk of returning to New Jersey to visit her ailing mother Sofia in the hospital. Now, twenty-one-year-old Elena gets to know for the first time the true story of her mom and the kind U. S. Marshall Carter, who looked out for her over the years.
The bonding of the U. S. Marshall and Elena is the heart of the film. Called by another character a "rent-a-cop," Carter cannot persuade the feisty Elena to enter another witness protection program. The quick-thinking Elena has a grandiose scheme to find the killer of her mother on her own, and the U. S. Marshall is always at her side like a little lap dog.
It stretched credibility that Elena would be placing herself in danger as she takes a job in the mail room of where Lorenzo works, with the goal of discovering evidence that he was involved in her mother's death. Two other interesting characters are Jackie, Teresa's best friend, and young Allie, who works as both a barista in Lorenzo's office and in the hospital where the grandmother is recovering. The U. S. Marshall finds this suspicious, and that is why it is so helpful to Elena to have him tagging along with her investigation.
While several of the "action" scenes were melodramatic to the near point of comedy, there was a touching scene at the end when the grandmother is getting to know Elena. While the film may have been inspired by true events, a substantial amount of latitude was taken by the filmmakers to "protect the innocent" and fit the story into the Lifetime formula.
Fast forward twenty-one years. Teresa is murdered when she takes the risk of returning to New Jersey to visit her ailing mother Sofia in the hospital. Now, twenty-one-year-old Elena gets to know for the first time the true story of her mom and the kind U. S. Marshall Carter, who looked out for her over the years.
The bonding of the U. S. Marshall and Elena is the heart of the film. Called by another character a "rent-a-cop," Carter cannot persuade the feisty Elena to enter another witness protection program. The quick-thinking Elena has a grandiose scheme to find the killer of her mother on her own, and the U. S. Marshall is always at her side like a little lap dog.
It stretched credibility that Elena would be placing herself in danger as she takes a job in the mail room of where Lorenzo works, with the goal of discovering evidence that he was involved in her mother's death. Two other interesting characters are Jackie, Teresa's best friend, and young Allie, who works as both a barista in Lorenzo's office and in the hospital where the grandmother is recovering. The U. S. Marshall finds this suspicious, and that is why it is so helpful to Elena to have him tagging along with her investigation.
While several of the "action" scenes were melodramatic to the near point of comedy, there was a touching scene at the end when the grandmother is getting to know Elena. While the film may have been inspired by true events, a substantial amount of latitude was taken by the filmmakers to "protect the innocent" and fit the story into the Lifetime formula.