Extremely well-directed and acted true-life chronicle of Diane Borchardt, a Wisconsin high school teacher who charmed some of her students into carrying out the murder of her husband. Originally shown in two parts on television, the film has the production values of a theatrical feature, and Ann-Margret is nothing short of riveting in the lead. Abandoning her kittenish persona (and all traces of a sympathetic good nature), Ann-Margret is nothing short of chilling in her portrayal of Mrs. B., a cunning and calculating monster. The younger players are also very good and the film is gripping if extremely unpleasant. Difficult as an entertainment, it is still a strong achievement, which is a testament to the talents of director John Patterson and writer Carmen Culver.
12 Reviews
Ann-Margret Shines
ijonesiii26 November 2005
Ann-Margaret really got a chance to strut her stuff as an actress in this riveting TV movie about a seductive temptress/schoolteacher who convinces three or her students to murder her husband by claiming he was abusive to her when actually she was the abusive one. Ann-Margaret completely loses herself in this complex and unsympathetic character whose true story is the stuff that movies of the week are made of and Ann-Margaret pulls it off beautifully and effortlessly makes Diane the woman you love to hate. Peter Coyote, an actor who has often been overshadowed by the actresses he has worked with, manages to hold his own as Diane's victimized husband, a devoted husband and father who is completely powerless over this madwoman whose universe he is unable to escape from in time. Writer Buck Henry told a similar story in less time and to greater effect in TO DIE FOR, a theatrical film which featured an amazing performance by Nicole Kidman, but Ann-Margret did Emmy worthy work as the twisted and terrible Diane Borchardt.
true events
cunaboy200423 August 2006
I was a sophomore in the Jefferson High School where this happened and even played on the tennis team for the school with Doug. I was also on the school's swim team with Chuck and had the opportunity to meet his dad many times and swim meets and at a swimming party one weekend. I was also in study hall which Mrs. B was an aide, and I remember she moved Josh to the front row that year to sit right next to her desk. She was always so nice to him. It is very sad to see what happened and everything is pretty much true, just like the user above commented on. I remember sitting in class on lock down when they came in to arrest her.
Hit close to home!!
jodi_krause4 May 2002
I have lived less than 10 miles from Jefferson all my life,much of my family lives there. This story hit very close to home. I remember listening to the hearings on the radio. Also before all this happened I used to hang out with Shannon at the dance club Jefferson used to have. When I saw the movie I had to laugh at the ways they portrayed some of the settings because I knew what they were supposed to be and they looked nothing like the real thing. To think something like this could happen like this in such a small town is just unbelievable! I would like to see it again(I haven't seen it in years)just because the actors did such a good job portraying down to earth small town people.
Pretty good TV movie, based on real events.
billwenham19 August 2001
Granted Jefferson isn't the Los Angeles-type city it is shown as in the movie - 'tis merely an average small town in Wisconsin, and the Borchardt house looks nothing like it does in real-life, the movie is still a pretty good dramatic representation of what really happened, although many things have been changed. The reason I had trouble with this real-life drama, is that I lived in Fort Atkinson at the time of this murder mystery (which is Jefferson's neighboring city). Jefferson is not covered in gang symbols or palm trees, etc. etc. But the acting was well-done (Alanna Ubach gives a knockout performance as Shannon). Having seen Peter Coyote for the first time in this movie he will always remain Ruben Borchardt in my mind (of course, he was also in E.T., but I had only seen that movie when I was a youngster). Diane Borchardt was a lucky woman - while she is very unattractive bitch, Ann-Margret portrays her in this movie.
Basically the movie goes like this: Ruben Borchardt is (somewhat reluctantly) murdered by three teens, Josh, Doug and Michael, by orders of his wife (their teacher) Diane Borchardt. The rest of the movie is one big flashback that explains how Diane manipulated her students into thinking Ruben abused her (when in truth it was vice versa). One by one, Doug and his friends get pulled into the mix. Ruben's motherless children from his first marriage are forced to see their father go into a depression, while their step-sister is treated as a queen. One obvious change from the real-life events, is the relationship between Ruben and his blooming love for Ruth. But whatever. The story stays pretty true to life, and events used the real sign for "Mrs. B's shop"...(It's so weird, because I remember driving past her shop all the time!)
Knowing my cousin associated with the three teenagers, and his wife had Mrs. Borchardt as a teacher, and I went to school with relatives of the Borchardts, it makes the movie all the more real to me, but as a movie, most will just find it pure entertainment with great acting, even though it is inaccurate in certain areas.
By the way - yes they really did arrest her while she was at school.
Basically the movie goes like this: Ruben Borchardt is (somewhat reluctantly) murdered by three teens, Josh, Doug and Michael, by orders of his wife (their teacher) Diane Borchardt. The rest of the movie is one big flashback that explains how Diane manipulated her students into thinking Ruben abused her (when in truth it was vice versa). One by one, Doug and his friends get pulled into the mix. Ruben's motherless children from his first marriage are forced to see their father go into a depression, while their step-sister is treated as a queen. One obvious change from the real-life events, is the relationship between Ruben and his blooming love for Ruth. But whatever. The story stays pretty true to life, and events used the real sign for "Mrs. B's shop"...(It's so weird, because I remember driving past her shop all the time!)
Knowing my cousin associated with the three teenagers, and his wife had Mrs. Borchardt as a teacher, and I went to school with relatives of the Borchardts, it makes the movie all the more real to me, but as a movie, most will just find it pure entertainment with great acting, even though it is inaccurate in certain areas.
By the way - yes they really did arrest her while she was at school.
seduced by. madness
willbranca-1699427 January 2017
There was a time when these true crime mini series were blockbuster entertainment nowadays they've been reduced with lower production values horrible scripts and unknown casts and shown on lifetime if your lucky you can catch them rerunning one of the classic ones.I wouldn't consider this one a classic like the burning bed or Fatal Vision but it boasts a fabulous performance by Ann Margret playing a socialpathic school teacher who manipulates a student to murder her husband peter Coyote gives a fine performance as well as the doomed husband but this is definitely Ann Margrets film who walks away with every scene she's in! The script can't avoid obvious clichés but it still is a fascinating watch. My only complaint is the annoying stupidity of Coyotes children who were warned by their father of what his wife is capable of and about money that he hid for them but basically do nothing and even let their wicked step mother to get her claws on the money If you enjoy true crime movies you should enjoy this! It's worth it just to see Ann Margrets performance
An excellent portrait of a murder
isoleader12 May 2005
Ann-Margret deserves an academy award for her performance as a manic step-mother who is concerned only with her own needs and desires. Her mood swings from normalcy to manic anger, her manipulation of her teen-age accomplices, her horrible treatment of her husband, and her favoritism for her own daughter over her two step-children...all very realistic portrayals of a manic woman obsessed with having everything her way. It was hard to watch this movie during the scenes leading up to Ruben Borchardt's murder, but they were enlightening. This movie is a must see for anyone who has known a manic person like Diane Borchardt. The post-murder investigation by the two relentless detectives was heartening, all the way up to the convictions of those involved. The classic scene comes at the end when Diane Borchardt is being processed for prison: her only concern is that her husband had a chance to "repent" before he died.
Kudos to the writers and actors who made this movie so realistic!
Kudos to the writers and actors who made this movie so realistic!
Ann-Margret in a stand out performance....
MarieGabrielle18 October 2006
As Diana Borchardt, a sociopath and schoolteacher who tires of her husband and wants out; this is a very interesting study of what some people are capable of.
Peter Coyote is sympathetic as the victim, Ruben Borchardt; as she calls him "Rube the boob"; she is an emasculating, narcissistic woman, (not schizophrenic as a previous review intimates).
The fact that this was based on a true story makes this all the more relevant, here was a well-liked teacher, popular with the students, capable of unbelievable manipulation, malice and murder.
The murder of Ruben is carried out by several students, who believe Borchardt is being physically abused by her husband (She was not, but concocted this story to acquire life insurance benefits). Tobey McGuire in particular is rather sympathetic as Ruben Borchardt's young son.
Borchardt apparently even visited her in-laws for Easter, knowing that their son was just brutally murdered, to cover up her role in the homicide. The students were pawns, part of her intent to control.
Indeed, no one even benefited from Ruben's death. The house was tied up in debt, and Diana Borchardt never paid the students what she had promised. She thereby perpetuated the psychological theory that there are some sociopaths who subconsciously want to be apprehended for their crimes. 8/10.
Peter Coyote is sympathetic as the victim, Ruben Borchardt; as she calls him "Rube the boob"; she is an emasculating, narcissistic woman, (not schizophrenic as a previous review intimates).
The fact that this was based on a true story makes this all the more relevant, here was a well-liked teacher, popular with the students, capable of unbelievable manipulation, malice and murder.
The murder of Ruben is carried out by several students, who believe Borchardt is being physically abused by her husband (She was not, but concocted this story to acquire life insurance benefits). Tobey McGuire in particular is rather sympathetic as Ruben Borchardt's young son.
Borchardt apparently even visited her in-laws for Easter, knowing that their son was just brutally murdered, to cover up her role in the homicide. The students were pawns, part of her intent to control.
Indeed, no one even benefited from Ruben's death. The house was tied up in debt, and Diana Borchardt never paid the students what she had promised. She thereby perpetuated the psychological theory that there are some sociopaths who subconsciously want to be apprehended for their crimes. 8/10.
Not totally true!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
moore1660_422 December 2004
This movie is not entirely correct. If your wondering how i know, it is because i am the youngest brother of Joshua Yanke, one of the kids hired to kill Rueben Borchardt. I have heard directly that it's not the way everything went. I believe that everybody got what they deserved. I'm not taking my brother's side or defending him, because i know what he did was wrong. The movie based Jefferson as a gang town with graffiti all over it. That is far from the truth. I know everybody personally that was involved in the whole murder. They were friends and none of them act that way in real life. All 3 kids were first time offenders and didn't have problems at school, home, or with the police. Making a movie out of this was not a good thing to do. How many other murder's are there out there and they don't make no movie out of them. They made this, cause it was a small town and they act like things like what happened don't happen in small towns, but it happens in every town.
Absolutely Horrifying to watch but engrossing TV film !
nicholas.rhodes23 September 2005
I can stomach things like Freddy Kreuger, The Omen, Texas Chainsaw and the like but this film is a horrifying and above all SICKENING experience, not, obviously through its blood and gore but through its manipulation of youngsters ( and not so youngsters ) by an extremely evil and malicious person. Don't be fooled by the comfortable suburban atmosphere, this woman is pure evil ! Even Satan himself would bend down to kneel before her in wide-eyed amazement ! I found parts of the film extremely disturbing to watch, of course the murder scene itself, where the evil deed is carried out to the sound of the choir singing "Rock of Ages", the lead-up to the fateful event, and then of course Ruben Borchardt's funeral where Mrs "B" turns on the waterworks for the benefit of the public, runs off and shows a different face ! Schizophrenic people are very frightening indeed and from reading the comments, I get the impression that this film is not just a fiction but actually based on real events ! Whether the reality was as horrific as in this film, we'll never know ! Outside this horror aspect, I also found that the characters were very well developed .... Ruben's two children, the boy Chuck, who I'd swear was a young clone of ex British PM John Major and his daughter,Brook, an American version of the French actress Charlotte Gainsbourg, are both very attaching and human characters.Mrs B's own kid Regan is a little less interesting. The Shannon character is also rather dubious. Ruben's love, Clair, is a shy character with a delicate, fragile and most lovely face but her rôle is really on the periphery of events though at one stage we do witness an extremely uncomfortable scene where she is pursued through the streets of the town by Diane Borchardt who is shouting insults after her ! As to the killers themselves, Doug Vest has an almost angelic face and Mike looks just the opposite ! In this frightening drama, the only reassuring thing are the two police officers who are far from stupid and have more or less sussed it out from the start ..... it's just a question of time before the net closes in on the guilty parties and they have their initial hunches confirmed.
Update July 2007 : a DVD of the the film would appear to be programmed for release around December 11th of this same year. Youpee !!!!
Update July 2007 : a DVD of the the film would appear to be programmed for release around December 11th of this same year. Youpee !!!!
Only for those with a "strong stomach"!
davyd-0223723 March 2019
Warning: Spoilers
You do hear that Hollywood glamorises stuff, including the factual/historical. From the opening sequence the producers spare no one from how vile "Diane" is and to what lengths she will go. You get, therefore, a lengthy film about how dislikeable this woman actually is, including cold blooded murder, hitting her husband, misusing his money...me...me..me all the way thru....personally, I think you have better things to do than watch stuff like this...its quicker to actually read up about the woman rather than watch the drama
Pretty good movie, a bit long though.
Unbreakable2724 April 2004
I'm not usually one to watch many Lifetime movies. My wife frequents the channel, though and sometimes only through boredom in it's purest form, will I watch a Lifetime movie with her.
But I must say that I thouroughly enjoyed this movie. I'm not the sentimental type by any means, but even I could not hold back tears as Ruben is shot as he's coming up the basement steps, thinking the person coming down is his son (it's actually the killers), saying, "I thought I was gonna have to drag you out of bed at this time of night."
Diane got away with the crime for about six months, then one of the boys cracks and shoots his mouth off to the wrong person, who then out of guilt, feels compelled to go to the cops, who felt that Diane was involved from the get-go.
The funeral scene is the most disturbing scene to sit through. Where Diane put's on a grief show, crying over Ruben's corpse. Then she runs out of the chapel, and into the bathroom wipes the crocodile tears, and puts on lipstick and smiles, What a b!tch!
I remember reading this story in the newspaper back in 1994 when it happened.
I like the picture so much I had to record it.
But I must say that I thouroughly enjoyed this movie. I'm not the sentimental type by any means, but even I could not hold back tears as Ruben is shot as he's coming up the basement steps, thinking the person coming down is his son (it's actually the killers), saying, "I thought I was gonna have to drag you out of bed at this time of night."
Diane got away with the crime for about six months, then one of the boys cracks and shoots his mouth off to the wrong person, who then out of guilt, feels compelled to go to the cops, who felt that Diane was involved from the get-go.
The funeral scene is the most disturbing scene to sit through. Where Diane put's on a grief show, crying over Ruben's corpse. Then she runs out of the chapel, and into the bathroom wipes the crocodile tears, and puts on lipstick and smiles, What a b!tch!
I remember reading this story in the newspaper back in 1994 when it happened.
I like the picture so much I had to record it.
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