Based on a true story, "Dead Before Dawn" tells the saga of a psychopathic husband, who abuses his beautiful wife and children, then plots the murder of his wife when the divorce proceedings are tilting in her direction.
The best part of the show is Cheryl Ladd's earnest performance as the wife, Linda Edelman. Jameson Parker underplays the role of the maniacal husband, Robert Edelman, yet still creates an icy persona.
The biggest mistake made by Robert was to allow too many unsavory people to get involved in his murder plot. He first hires James Young to do the job. But Young subcontracts the job. In the process, Young makes the fatal error of talking to Fred Zabitowski, a character who appears only briefly in two scenes. Zabitowski turns out to be a snitch who informs the FBI about Robert's dastardly plan.
The film struggled to string out the apprehension of Robert Edelman for too long a stretch. Instead of immediately arresting him, the FBI ropes Linda into a complicated scheme to make it appear as if she was murdered, and Robert subsequently gets caught making a payoff. It seemed beyond the pale to place the children in danger while they are staying with their bloodthirsty dad, so that the sting operation could succeed. It should have been enough for Young to finger Robert as part of a plea deal.
The most interesting secondary character was Linda's father, a crusty yet wise old codger, who recognized even before his daughter's marriage that her husband was a scoundrel. There are some offbeat moments with the dad takes out his hearing aids because he is sick of listening to all of the nonsense. He also has the best line in the film when taken to an Italian restaurant against his will: "I hate Italian food; it all tastes like pizza."
Despite its shortcomings, the screenplay for "Dead Before Dawn" works very closely to the true story of Edelman's murder-for-hire scheme. At times, life can be even more incomprehensible than the fertile imagination of a screenwriter.
The best part of the show is Cheryl Ladd's earnest performance as the wife, Linda Edelman. Jameson Parker underplays the role of the maniacal husband, Robert Edelman, yet still creates an icy persona.
The biggest mistake made by Robert was to allow too many unsavory people to get involved in his murder plot. He first hires James Young to do the job. But Young subcontracts the job. In the process, Young makes the fatal error of talking to Fred Zabitowski, a character who appears only briefly in two scenes. Zabitowski turns out to be a snitch who informs the FBI about Robert's dastardly plan.
The film struggled to string out the apprehension of Robert Edelman for too long a stretch. Instead of immediately arresting him, the FBI ropes Linda into a complicated scheme to make it appear as if she was murdered, and Robert subsequently gets caught making a payoff. It seemed beyond the pale to place the children in danger while they are staying with their bloodthirsty dad, so that the sting operation could succeed. It should have been enough for Young to finger Robert as part of a plea deal.
The most interesting secondary character was Linda's father, a crusty yet wise old codger, who recognized even before his daughter's marriage that her husband was a scoundrel. There are some offbeat moments with the dad takes out his hearing aids because he is sick of listening to all of the nonsense. He also has the best line in the film when taken to an Italian restaurant against his will: "I hate Italian food; it all tastes like pizza."
Despite its shortcomings, the screenplay for "Dead Before Dawn" works very closely to the true story of Edelman's murder-for-hire scheme. At times, life can be even more incomprehensible than the fertile imagination of a screenwriter.
