I wish big budget movies would be made like that. A lot of talking, but not overtalked. Psychological thriller. Filmmakers think we need action, due to our brains being spoiled by social media, but tha'ts not true, cinema is lacking psychological thrillers, especially those based on true stories. There's plenty of stupid fake stories, while life brings unbelievable scenarios. Anyway, to the movie. I don't think those law grades are fair, the actors are great, the directing is not cringy, this is a really good movie. Also, when you raise the reliability problem, you need to try to undersand the vulnerabillity of a person that is so hunry for love that they stop seeing things rationally. It si a good movie and. Nicolle Tom is fantastic, so is Adam Mayfield.
12 Reviews
Pretty Dismal
cockezville21 December 2022
First of all,the acting was just abysmal. The actor who played Casey immediately gave sociopathic vibes and his flirting was just too obvious and silly. And Vicky's facial expressions looked like they belonged on a Mama's Family episode. The story never developed the characters. It was like it was produced by the Hallmark channel.
We needed more of Vicky's back story that would make her susceptible to this kind of manipulation and criminal activity. The actor who played Casey just fell flat and he just didn't nail sociopath possibly because the direction was substandard. I just could not get invested in any of the characters.
We needed more of Vicky's back story that would make her susceptible to this kind of manipulation and criminal activity. The actor who played Casey just fell flat and he just didn't nail sociopath possibly because the direction was substandard. I just could not get invested in any of the characters.
A Woman Under the Influence
rdfranciscritic25 January 2023
So many child actors fall from grace. So, seeing Nicole Tom transition into an adult acting career (she's commendable, here) is the selling point with this "Tubi Exclusive" that premiered in December 2022.
How Tubi came to produce exclusive, original streaming content: In April 2020, FOX purchased the successful with-ad streaming platform, which has since grown to Smart TVs -- as well as PCs and laptops. Two years into the deal, by May 2022: Tubi announced their plans to bring 100 new, originals titles to the FOX-owned streaming service. Prisoner of Love is the latest.
Now, when you read reviews on these Tubi-FOX produced films, reviewers namedrop cable TV's "Lifetime Network," so as to describe the production values and damsel-in-distress plot lines. That Lifetime déjà vu is no accident: the production company shingle on Prisoner of Love is MarVista Entertainment, the distribution/studio behind those numerous Lifetime (as well as Hallmark and ION) films, as FOX purchased MarVista in December 2021.
Yeah, there's some smart cookies running the show at FOX. The business model is analogous to Paramount Studios getting into the home video business during the Blockbuster Video '90s, as the studio would front 1.5 to 2.5 million to produce original, low-budget content for the direct-to-video market. Same business model: only, instead of VHS tapes and DVDs, it's direct-to-streaming. And, according to the IMDb: Prisoner of Love was produced for 1 million. So there you go.
The cinematic -- as well as real life -- doppelganger, here, is the Lifetime Channel-distributed (uh-huh) New York Prison Break (2017); that film starred an incredible-in-the-role Penelope Ann Miller as Joyce Mitchell of the infamous New York's Clinton Correctional, Shawshank-style breakout. Here, instead of Joyce Miller's prison-employed seamstress falling in forbidden love: we have Alabama, Lauderdale County Assistant Director of Corrections Lt. Vicky White breaking out her prison-lover.
In the former film: Mitchell and her lover, survived: we get both sides of their story pulling together the plot. In this latter film: Vicky White, committed suicide when law enforcement closed in. As result, no one really knew Ms. White's sad, mental state; her side of the story. And Casey White, her lover, a convicted murderer, isn't to be trusted with his "version" of events (the Pizza-Sex scene). So, what's left: news reports to pull the story together. The rest are composite characters (portrayed by serviceable, yet unknown Georgia actors, where this was produced) because, well, this is BASED on a "true story" -- and not the least biographical.
Regardless of those non-bio script compressions and dramatic-narrative liberties, ex-comedy scribe Guy Nicolucci (of the brain candy-enjoyable, 2022 Tubi-exclusive Hot Take: The Depp/Heard Trail) hits all the major plot points and gets the job done for those who would rather not dig through Google article links to get the story. Director Jodi Binstock (of cable's popular Z Nation and enjoyable A Snow Globe Christmas; I enjoy those Hallmark X-Mas flicks, so sue me) works that paltry million dollar budget effectively into, while not a visually stunning film, is TV movie-production solid. The difference is that MarVista is now producing those same "Lifetime" films, only for FOX-Tubi.
The curious qualm of the film is its length. Sure, this isn't intended for commercial TV, which means the film would need to be 80-minutes tight to fit into a two-hour block (120-mintues) with 40-minutes of commercials. But at 100 minutes, the proceedings, here, meander a bit -- into an undeveloped subplot about how the new, interim Sheriff-boss got his job at the prison, as well as the mutual flirting with a female FBI agent on the case (both non-composite and non-factual). That superfluous sidebar could have easily shaved 20-minutes off the running time. Or, keep the 100-minute running time -- but tell us more about the damaged psychology (at least guess) of what drove Vicky White to throw away a respected, 17-year career on the cusp of an honorable retirement. Again: Vicky committed suicide, so we -- and the filmmakers -- can never know. Binstock and Nicolucci should, however, be commended for making solid, educated guesses as to how the forbidden relationship played out.
Remember, this is a (streaming) TV movie: if you don't come for factual accuracy and psychological-subjective story telling, you'll enjoy your watch.
How Tubi came to produce exclusive, original streaming content: In April 2020, FOX purchased the successful with-ad streaming platform, which has since grown to Smart TVs -- as well as PCs and laptops. Two years into the deal, by May 2022: Tubi announced their plans to bring 100 new, originals titles to the FOX-owned streaming service. Prisoner of Love is the latest.
Now, when you read reviews on these Tubi-FOX produced films, reviewers namedrop cable TV's "Lifetime Network," so as to describe the production values and damsel-in-distress plot lines. That Lifetime déjà vu is no accident: the production company shingle on Prisoner of Love is MarVista Entertainment, the distribution/studio behind those numerous Lifetime (as well as Hallmark and ION) films, as FOX purchased MarVista in December 2021.
Yeah, there's some smart cookies running the show at FOX. The business model is analogous to Paramount Studios getting into the home video business during the Blockbuster Video '90s, as the studio would front 1.5 to 2.5 million to produce original, low-budget content for the direct-to-video market. Same business model: only, instead of VHS tapes and DVDs, it's direct-to-streaming. And, according to the IMDb: Prisoner of Love was produced for 1 million. So there you go.
The cinematic -- as well as real life -- doppelganger, here, is the Lifetime Channel-distributed (uh-huh) New York Prison Break (2017); that film starred an incredible-in-the-role Penelope Ann Miller as Joyce Mitchell of the infamous New York's Clinton Correctional, Shawshank-style breakout. Here, instead of Joyce Miller's prison-employed seamstress falling in forbidden love: we have Alabama, Lauderdale County Assistant Director of Corrections Lt. Vicky White breaking out her prison-lover.
In the former film: Mitchell and her lover, survived: we get both sides of their story pulling together the plot. In this latter film: Vicky White, committed suicide when law enforcement closed in. As result, no one really knew Ms. White's sad, mental state; her side of the story. And Casey White, her lover, a convicted murderer, isn't to be trusted with his "version" of events (the Pizza-Sex scene). So, what's left: news reports to pull the story together. The rest are composite characters (portrayed by serviceable, yet unknown Georgia actors, where this was produced) because, well, this is BASED on a "true story" -- and not the least biographical.
Regardless of those non-bio script compressions and dramatic-narrative liberties, ex-comedy scribe Guy Nicolucci (of the brain candy-enjoyable, 2022 Tubi-exclusive Hot Take: The Depp/Heard Trail) hits all the major plot points and gets the job done for those who would rather not dig through Google article links to get the story. Director Jodi Binstock (of cable's popular Z Nation and enjoyable A Snow Globe Christmas; I enjoy those Hallmark X-Mas flicks, so sue me) works that paltry million dollar budget effectively into, while not a visually stunning film, is TV movie-production solid. The difference is that MarVista is now producing those same "Lifetime" films, only for FOX-Tubi.
The curious qualm of the film is its length. Sure, this isn't intended for commercial TV, which means the film would need to be 80-minutes tight to fit into a two-hour block (120-mintues) with 40-minutes of commercials. But at 100 minutes, the proceedings, here, meander a bit -- into an undeveloped subplot about how the new, interim Sheriff-boss got his job at the prison, as well as the mutual flirting with a female FBI agent on the case (both non-composite and non-factual). That superfluous sidebar could have easily shaved 20-minutes off the running time. Or, keep the 100-minute running time -- but tell us more about the damaged psychology (at least guess) of what drove Vicky White to throw away a respected, 17-year career on the cusp of an honorable retirement. Again: Vicky committed suicide, so we -- and the filmmakers -- can never know. Binstock and Nicolucci should, however, be commended for making solid, educated guesses as to how the forbidden relationship played out.
Remember, this is a (streaming) TV movie: if you don't come for factual accuracy and psychological-subjective story telling, you'll enjoy your watch.
Don't waste you time
angargis-0555416 December 2022
First, Florence, AL is in the middle of the city not the woods. They drove through the city to the Academy Sports parking lot.... Still city. The fact they added the tanning bed to the whole thing just for giggles... Well that was hilarious. You'd have to hear the former employee's interview about her to understand the joke. She was not a victim and they make Casey too smart and too attractive for that role. He is more of an oversized Elmer Fudd fellow. Word for word, the whole movie was EXACTLY what the news reports all told. Basically, they compiled the reports for the script. And lastly, the sheriff of Lauderdale County is an old white Boss Hogg looking man....and yet here we have replaced him with not an old white Boss Hogg looking man... Many, many inaccuracies. It makes my home area look like a train wreck.
Nope
bpreston-6153724 December 2022
Warning: Spoilers
This movie is a huge disappointment! We live in Evansville, IN about a mile away from where Vicky and Casey were caught, so we were looking forward to watching a dramatization of the events. This one misses the mark on so many levels. The acting seemed forced and the actress playing Vicki's facial expressions were so over the top they were distracting. The dialogue was terrible and cheesy. There was zero character development - I still have no idea why this woman would throw her life away for a convicted murder. And there were huge holes in the plot- the filmmakers could've spent a lot more time to give the audience a more complete story and left out all of the awful flirting not only between Vicky and Casey, but also between the sheriff and the US Marshal. It was a definite no for me. I'm hoping someone makes a better movie or documentary about it in the future.
Not what I was hoping
tarasduncan22 December 2022
I kept up with this case from the beginning as I don't live far from Florence, Alabama. I feel
like the movie does not portray what actually happened. There was a 911 call that provided information as to the states of mind of Vicky and Casey. This was not in the movie. The film took some liberties with the hotel scenes. No one knows what happened except Casey and he's not talking about the private moments they shared.
The real jail is in the middle of the city - not out in the boonies. The acting is subpar. I feel like this is a story that would make a great movie, but this is not that movie.
The real jail is in the middle of the city - not out in the boonies. The acting is subpar. I feel like this is a story that would make a great movie, but this is not that movie.
Requiem for a Lonely Woman
lavatch19 December 2022
Warning: Spoilers
"Prisoner of Love" misfired badly in its exposition of the motivation for correctional officer Vicky White in beginning a fatal relationship with prisoner Casey White, culminating in the daring prison break engineered by Vicky that led to her own tragic death by suicide.
Surely Vicky White was consumed by a loneliness that she disguised to those who knew her. At one point in the film, she confesses that she felt "dead" during her years working at the prison. Yet the film portrayal of Vicky never conveyed the torment that allowed for her major lapse in judgment.
The filmmakers adopted an overly sentimental approach to this deeply troubling story. Casey White was given nearly movie star charm instead of the thuggish nature that comes across in all of his photographs. This was a predator who used his psychological acumen to dupe a desperately lonely woman.
There was a happy-go-lucky approach to the days on the road of Vicky and Casey, who were likely sleeping with one eye open and never in the state of adventure depicted in the film. The police were casually approaching the case with laughing and bantering during a time when the public was fearful and lives were endangered with anyone who came into contact with the runaways.
There was never a sinister or dangerous aspect incorporated in a story that demanded an exploration of how Casey manipulated Vicky and how she allowed herself to lose touch with reality. This was not a Romeo and Juliet saga, but a sordid tale of deceit, fantasy, lust, and disillusion.
Rest in peace, Vicky White.
Surely Vicky White was consumed by a loneliness that she disguised to those who knew her. At one point in the film, she confesses that she felt "dead" during her years working at the prison. Yet the film portrayal of Vicky never conveyed the torment that allowed for her major lapse in judgment.
The filmmakers adopted an overly sentimental approach to this deeply troubling story. Casey White was given nearly movie star charm instead of the thuggish nature that comes across in all of his photographs. This was a predator who used his psychological acumen to dupe a desperately lonely woman.
There was a happy-go-lucky approach to the days on the road of Vicky and Casey, who were likely sleeping with one eye open and never in the state of adventure depicted in the film. The police were casually approaching the case with laughing and bantering during a time when the public was fearful and lives were endangered with anyone who came into contact with the runaways.
There was never a sinister or dangerous aspect incorporated in a story that demanded an exploration of how Casey manipulated Vicky and how she allowed herself to lose touch with reality. This was not a Romeo and Juliet saga, but a sordid tale of deceit, fantasy, lust, and disillusion.
Rest in peace, Vicky White.
So cringe....
MTM2331 December 2022
My expectations weren't high to begin with but I was definitely not prepared for how cringe the movie is. I can't tell if its the script or what but the movie was uncomfortable to sit through. Nicholle Tom's acting was so awful here, I know she is a decent actress but something was off. The actor playing Casey White was somewhat redeeming, he was handsome so there's that. Alot of Vicky's true life backstory was left out of the film that I wish they had included because it gives more insight into how far she fell and more explainations as to why. The overall situation was sad and to an extent I feel bad for Vicky White. This movie had potential and I truly believe it was wasted here.
My goodness the acting
gydw-4136021 February 2023
You can tell this movie was made in a rush. Some director wanted to be the first to make a movie about this story and it shows big time here. The acting is absolutely atrocious as I've seen better acting in adult films. Nothing about this movie was even close to the true story and this should of never hit the screens. One day someone will get this story right but as I said this producer was in a huge hurry to get this out. Perhaps they should of told more of Vicky's story ahead of her falling in love with a criminal. Oh another thing, the actors picked for this movie are no where close to representation of the actual real life persons. Especially Casey White. Overall my rating is this.... Horrible, Horrible, Horrible!!!
Worse ever
cmercado-384635 May 2023
This movie is so bad I don't even know where to start at. Now, in all fairness the actors were pretty good it was the writing and directing that was just horrible. The story was so boring and blah. Save your time and don't watch this. I promise you'll regret it. This story had so much more to tell and they dropped the ball. The writing was so FLAT THE STORY WAS FLAT. This is based on a true story and it felt like the worst story ever told. Nicholle Tom, was really good and so was Adam Mayfield. This is possibly the worst Lifetime movie ever made. Now I know to stay away from anything directed or written by this cast.
Not enough diversity.
hdonald-4188121 December 2022
I would have enjoyed this more if the actor could've been more inclusive and diversified. It's a shame that in 2022 we can't have more movies like the little mermaid. I just feel like Vicky could've been played by a stronger woman like Rachel Levine. Further more Casey white should've been portrayed by a much stronger actor such as Chris Rock, it would've add a much more fluid comedic relief to the plot. Honestly the plot was a little dry for me personally, there weren't enough explosions to satisfy my need for action, could we have a redo with Michael Bay as director, there are plenty of action packed moments in his films.
Wow
BandSAboutMovies12 February 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Vicky White was a respected jail guard just getting ready to retire, a widow with no children, who found herself in a special relationship with one of her prisoners, Casey White. This went from extra food on his tray and special privileges to her selling her house for cash and going on the run with him for eleven days before he was caught and she died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Directed by Jodi Binstock and written by Guy Nicolucci (Tubi's Hot Take: The Depp/Heard Trial), this stars Nicholle Tom (Maggie Sheffield from The Nanny, Ryce from Beethoven) as Vicky -- to be fair, she's way more attractive than the real thing but isn't that the point of a made for TV or Tubi movie? -- and Adam Mayfield as Casey.
It's a strange film because while so much is based on life, there are also moments of off humor, like Vicky leaving town while all the rest of the guards are trying to throw her a sad retirement party with a grocery store cake that was probably thrown together in moments despite her having a 17-year-career at the jail and being a four-time employee of the month. Or how obsessed she is with tanning. Or how Casey keeps calling her Taylor Swift. Or when she finally gets to fulfill all of her fantasies with him, he'd rather fold a pizza in half and eat it all by himself.
This happened on April 29, 2022 and somehow, Tubi was able to get a movie on the air before the end of the year. That's the kind of scummy filmmaking that old made for TV movies and cash-in exploitation films can only dream of. Maybe we should be forgiving of the fact that this depicts Evansville, IN as having a Piggly Wiggly and palm trees. I mean, I always throught Haddonfield, IL had at least one of those.
Directed by Jodi Binstock and written by Guy Nicolucci (Tubi's Hot Take: The Depp/Heard Trial), this stars Nicholle Tom (Maggie Sheffield from The Nanny, Ryce from Beethoven) as Vicky -- to be fair, she's way more attractive than the real thing but isn't that the point of a made for TV or Tubi movie? -- and Adam Mayfield as Casey.
It's a strange film because while so much is based on life, there are also moments of off humor, like Vicky leaving town while all the rest of the guards are trying to throw her a sad retirement party with a grocery store cake that was probably thrown together in moments despite her having a 17-year-career at the jail and being a four-time employee of the month. Or how obsessed she is with tanning. Or how Casey keeps calling her Taylor Swift. Or when she finally gets to fulfill all of her fantasies with him, he'd rather fold a pizza in half and eat it all by himself.
This happened on April 29, 2022 and somehow, Tubi was able to get a movie on the air before the end of the year. That's the kind of scummy filmmaking that old made for TV movies and cash-in exploitation films can only dream of. Maybe we should be forgiving of the fact that this depicts Evansville, IN as having a Piggly Wiggly and palm trees. I mean, I always throught Haddonfield, IL had at least one of those.
See also
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