A separated, former New York Newsreporter is passed out drunk on her sofa, when her 8 year old son gets himself ready and leaves for school. She is woken by the telephone saying he has not arrived. He has been abducted by an impostor posing as a friend of his Dad's.
In a very difficult role as a paedophile who abducts the boy, Christopher Reeve is absolutely superb as creepy Lawrence Muller.
Don't be put off by the made for TV tag, Reeve brings his A-Game and Meredith Baxter put in a shift too.
The first half of this movie is the best, the second act where a drunk friend of Baxter's draws an incredible likeness to Reeve in under 60 seconds after seeing him for a couple of seconds, the Police allowing Baxter to interrogate witness's, check registration plates, and have her own police escort without cautioning her for interfering with a police investigation gets a bit implausible, as does the fact that Social Services are never called, and at the happy ending Baxter is allowed to take the boy home without any repercussions for her gross neglect.
But Reeve's performance more than makes up for any other short comings, and it will stay with you long after the move has finished.
I can only guess there must have been some seriously strong contenders for male performances that year, as the fact that Reeve did not even garner a nomination of any kind for this movie is ridiculous.
It's a shame Reeve's performances as Superman (still the best Man Of Steel/Clark Kent for me) over shadowed everything else he did. As he is a damn fine actor.
