There is an appalling irony in the situation of the Birch Springs Family Health Center. On the one hand, the yoga and meditation classes are touting spiritual passages like "Let the wave of calm was over you." But on the other, the tortured family members running the business are constantly at each other's throats.
Lauren has taken over the family health center and made it a great success due to her teaching. But there is still an enormous rift in her family due to an accusation that her husband Ian was unfaithful to her. The allegation was made by Amanda, Lauren's sister. The family members were so embittered that Amanda left for New York. Now, three years later, she returns home for the grand opening of the new center. Amanda's presence is like ripping a scab off of an old wound.
Lauren does not help her own cause by suddenly announcing at a family dinner that she wants Amanda to be the co-owner of the center. Neither the husband, the son, nor the assistant thinks that is a good idea. With no consultation of her partners, Lauren instantly antagonizes them all and sets in motion the machinery of her own demise.
On the day of the grand opening, Lauren drops dead while making her welcoming speech at the party. The semi-divine Lauren is then treated as a martyr. But the saintly Lauren was acting more like a prima donna at the dinner table spat when, like a spoiled brat, she insisted on Amanda taking 50% control of the business. Now, it is clear that someone in the inner circle murdered Lauren. The only suspects are the husband Ian, the son Charlie, and Lauren's assistant and Charlie's live-in girlfriend, Maya.
The filmmakers erred in giving away the identity of the killer in the film's title. But that was only the least of the problems with this film. The overall nastiness of all of the family members (even the saintly Lauren!) was set in counterpoint with the sharing of love and internal peace at the meditation center. The lovely poetic imagery was set in relief with an almost ghoulish sense of the macabre in the death of Lauren, the attempt to kill the young recovering alcoholic Charlie, and Ian's adultery.
Detective Josh Stone, Amanda's high school sweetheart, was completely inept in his investigatory skills. The melodrama played out almost by chance as the villain got caught up in the exact opposite of what the Birch Springs Family Health Center had to offer. No need to bow, clasp hands, and say a loving "Namaste" in this family!
Lauren has taken over the family health center and made it a great success due to her teaching. But there is still an enormous rift in her family due to an accusation that her husband Ian was unfaithful to her. The allegation was made by Amanda, Lauren's sister. The family members were so embittered that Amanda left for New York. Now, three years later, she returns home for the grand opening of the new center. Amanda's presence is like ripping a scab off of an old wound.
Lauren does not help her own cause by suddenly announcing at a family dinner that she wants Amanda to be the co-owner of the center. Neither the husband, the son, nor the assistant thinks that is a good idea. With no consultation of her partners, Lauren instantly antagonizes them all and sets in motion the machinery of her own demise.
On the day of the grand opening, Lauren drops dead while making her welcoming speech at the party. The semi-divine Lauren is then treated as a martyr. But the saintly Lauren was acting more like a prima donna at the dinner table spat when, like a spoiled brat, she insisted on Amanda taking 50% control of the business. Now, it is clear that someone in the inner circle murdered Lauren. The only suspects are the husband Ian, the son Charlie, and Lauren's assistant and Charlie's live-in girlfriend, Maya.
The filmmakers erred in giving away the identity of the killer in the film's title. But that was only the least of the problems with this film. The overall nastiness of all of the family members (even the saintly Lauren!) was set in counterpoint with the sharing of love and internal peace at the meditation center. The lovely poetic imagery was set in relief with an almost ghoulish sense of the macabre in the death of Lauren, the attempt to kill the young recovering alcoholic Charlie, and Ian's adultery.
Detective Josh Stone, Amanda's high school sweetheart, was completely inept in his investigatory skills. The melodrama played out almost by chance as the villain got caught up in the exact opposite of what the Birch Springs Family Health Center had to offer. No need to bow, clasp hands, and say a loving "Namaste" in this family!
