A seasoned police detective returns to her local hometown to investigate the shocking case of the rape of a mentally disabled girl. The town wants to hush up the incident, and is hostile to ... Read allA seasoned police detective returns to her local hometown to investigate the shocking case of the rape of a mentally disabled girl. The town wants to hush up the incident, and is hostile to the investigation.A seasoned police detective returns to her local hometown to investigate the shocking case of the rape of a mentally disabled girl. The town wants to hush up the incident, and is hostile to the investigation.
- Awards
- 1 nomination total
- John Tierney
- (as Kett Turton)
- Carl Brewer
- (as Doron Bell Jr.)
- Jack Scherzer
- (as Stephen James Lang)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
Eric Stoltz is excellent as prosecutor Dan Laurino,who empathizes with the victim (well-done by Heather Matarazzo). The character Ally Sheedy portrays is a detective who used to work in NYC, and is now on the task force, prosecuting the members of the football team who took part in the gang-rape of a mentally disabled student.
There is much denial and deferral of responsibility, the group mentality of "don't make waves" and the accusations that, as an unstable person, the character Matarazzo portrays had deserved, and even asked for, what happened to her. It is the utmost disgrace that American communities like this still react this way.
The next time you see a tragedy in the local news, and a neighbor comments they couldn't believe it happened in his/her neighborhood, chalk it up to the mechanism of denial; the fact that people cannot comprehend such things does not mean they are not happening every day, and that we need stricter laws protecting the disabled. 10/10
This is not your typical made for TV movie. For Heather Matarazzo's performance alone, put this film on your "must see" list. Since the producers used the real names of several perpetrators, I feel confident that the script must be very accurate. (Some of the guilty were shielded from public exposure due to their status as minors.) Most "based on a true story" movies take great liberties with facts, characters and events to make a more dramatic or cohesive film and I tend to dismiss them as entertainment, not documentary.
If you watch this film, I think you will be haunted by the protagonist long after the final credits.
Did you know
- TriviaBoth Ally Sheedy and Eric Stoltz's names are misspelled on the movie poster.
- Quotes
Kelly Brooks: What are these people trying to protect?
Robert Laurino: Some fantasy. Nobody wants to see what's crawling under the rock of the American Dream.
- ConnectionsReferences Law & Order: Damaged (1998)
- SoundtracksShake It Up
By Mark Pont
This and That