THE MIDWIFE'S DECEPTION
(TV Movie 2018)
BASIC PLOT:
Sara and Daniel Miller are adjusting to many new changes in their lives.
They've relocated to Kentucky, Daniel's (
Billy Armstrong) childhood home, after the recent death of his mother. They are coping with their loss by making her house their own, and preparing for a new baby girl. Sara Miller (
Katie Savoy) is having a harder time adjusting than her husband Daniel. She's eight months pregnant, no longer working as a lawyer, and doesn't know a soul in this small southern town. So, when she meets
Jina Anderson (
Penelope Mitchell), a midwife, it feels like a godsend. Sara's always wanted a natural birth, and Jina seems like the perfect fit. She's kind, knowledgeable, and seems to help Sara remain calm, but are Jina's motives as altruistic as they seem?
WHAT WORKS:
*
Letia Clouston does an above average job here with both writing and directing. If anything, she does it a little too well; the characters are too well drawn and acted, and so we sympathize more than we should, and more than we would in most melodramas.
*All the acting is above what you would normally see in a made-for-tv movie.
*FOR EVERYONE WHO RATED THIS LOW BECAUSE THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT A MELODRAMA IS:
melodrama is a work with exaggerated, sensational events and characters. It is highly emotional, focusing on exciting but over-the-top situations that are designed to encourage emotional responses in the audience. Strong characterization is not a feature of melodrama; rather, characters are assigned stereotypical or simple roles, often in "good versus evil" situations.-literaryterms. N e t
In other words, THIS IS A PERFECT MELODRAMA! People should have to understand the art form BEFORE they are allowed to review/rate it. Then, if you don't like it, fine. But don't review fine wines when you've never drank one.
WHAT DOESN'T WORK:
*Drugs either work or don't work on a person, they don't suddenly work because the person who drugged you tells you, "you've been drugged!"
*Why, oh why, do we kill Allie (
Katie McClellan)? Because the characters are more defined than most melodramas, and because the actors do a good job, we feel this loss when normally we wouldn't. Better to have her kidnapped, or in a coma, so she can return as a touchstone in the end.
*Does Jina (
Penelope Mitchell) have some kind of fake references or false midwife certificate? These are educated people, and before they moved this woman into their house, or had her as a midwife, they'd check her bonafides.
*The ending DOES NOT WORK! And it's not just because of the fire, it's also anticlimactic. The villainess is too easily dispatched. A more dramatic ending is needed, with a memorable slaying, worthy of a melodrama. Instead of destroying the memories of Daniel's mother, they could be used to smite Jina instead. Using his mother's ceramic fawn collection to knock Jina out, and then finish her off by smothering her with Hans, Daniel's old teddy bear, is a much more melodramatic ending.
*WHY is the house destroyed in the end? I don't understand this, even as a visual metaphor, it just doesn't work! It's an upsetting end, to what should be a good resolution. Forget the fact that stone/brick houses don't burn easy, (which they don't), and instead take into account, how many viewers would be bothered (myself included) by a generational house being burned down. STOP BURNING DOWN HOUSES IN MELODRAMAS!
TO RECOMMEND, OR NOT TO RECOMMEND, THAT IS THE QUESTION:
*IF you understand the art form of melodrama, and you like that type of art, you'll like this. It has a few problems, but for the most part, it's above average made-for-tv movie faire.
CLOSING NOTES:
*This is a Made-For-TV movie, please keep that in mind before you watch\rate it. TV movies have a much lower budget, and so your expectations should be adjusted.
*I have no connection to the film, or production in ANY way. I am just an honest viewer, who wishes for more straight forward reviews. Hope I helped you out.
