But the real life person is so unsympathetic. They tried with this movie though. I can't remember how I learned about this case originally, but it's horrific. This movie is one of those where you know the ending, but it's about the execution. I think as a movie, it's far above what one can expect from Lifetime. The use of flashback and timelines and present day is put to use here, but in my opinion, it's what has to be done for a movie like this. Outside of the present day scenes, everything seemed chronological so there was no confusion that things were building to that horrific crime. I did notice the typical Hollywood disclaimer at the end. Makes me wonder how close to the edge these movies can get w/o being sued.
I know the movie leaves out a lot (ex. The third child), and this could have been a two or three night event from Lifetime, but SM did a good job portraying what is known about Debora Green. I believed the performance. Especially right up to the end. In her real defense, she tried to blame her son for both the fire and poisoning of dad, so she is truly repulsive to me. The movie also somewhat sanitized what the children saw of her behavior (drunken nights, swearing, threats, gaslighting) and the deterioration of their parents' marriage. I like that Lifetime didn't try to demonize the father. From a lot of reports, Debora was working on alienating the kids, (at least Tim) from Dad and I think the movie clearly showed that. Plus the poisoning and attempts to kill him. I just really feel for those kids. Deb telling poor Tim to stay put until the fireman came is just horrible.
So 7 stars for being so unlike current Lifetime and Stephanie March's performance. All of actors were good, the actor playing her husband was excellent as well, but obviously this movie needed a strong portrayal of Green. This is one of the better true came/"ripped from the headlines" movies they've done. As a movie it works, but obviously look for real case information for a non-Hollywood view of the story.
