Her Study of A Killer (2023 TV Movie) User Reviews

Good film

[gymnckv · 7/10 · 1 August 2023]

My comments are pretty shallow, although I liked the film overall.

What was Indigo (played by the beautiful ReSheda D. Terry) wearing in her earliest scene? That ugly, ill-fitting blue blazer did not match the ugly patterned dress she was wearing. Her hair was beautiful though.

Highly-strung Ellie (played by the ravishingly beautiful Natasha Wilson) is neurotic about her daughter Brooklyn who initially seems independent and well-adjusted. Later it's clear Brooklyn is quite immature and unfiltered, and blabs about intimate family disclosures indiscriminately.

I love the diverse cast. But everyone in this film seems sort of catty & strange.

Ellie kicked her husband out for something that happened 15 years before, where she thought he'd cheated on her. But turns out he was drugged and raped at a party which resulted in a pregnancy. That it was a sexual assault is largely overlooked.

Trevor is an astonishingly poor police chief. Zero sense of curiosity. I liked the suspense and ending.

The Inner Circle

[lavatch · 8/10 · 17 April 2023]

The title "Her Study of a Killer" pertains on one level to the common ground shared by Ellie and her daughter Brooklyn in performing the role of Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth. But on another level, there is an urgency to study the evidence surrounding the murder of the beloved drama teacher Ms. Meadows.

At Liberty High School, a group of young women had bonded with their drama coach, and they called themselves "the inner circle." But years later, at the time of a class reunion, it is clear that one member of the inner circle held enough of a grudge to resort to murder, and there appeared to be no stopping the bloodbath after the death of Ms. Meadows.

Beyond the effective suspense of a "whodunnit," the film offered a thoughtful message about the choices we make in life. Ellie, who gave an exemplary performance as Lady Macbeth," never acted again after high school. She became pregnant and devoted her adult life to young Brooklyn. By contrast, Averie, who lost out to Ellie in the high school production, went on to become a successful actress. The two characters have a mutual admiration and even longing for each other's life decisions.

Natasha Wilson offered an especially sensitive interpretation of Ellie, and the entire cast was successful in developing well-rounded characters. There were hidden layers within the subtext of Tiffany and Indigo, as well as Ellie's husband Daniel.

It would have been a nice touch to give the slide presentation in tribute of Ms. Meadows, who had impacted the young people's lives both on and off the stage.