The Confession

I loved the whole story of this second part of the trilogy. The script was wrote, acted, and directed well. There were two actor changes that I noticed. The main character Katie is a new actress as well as the husband of her birth mom. I much would have preferred the original Katie as she did such a great job in The Shunning. The new actress for Katie was good but my heart was with the previous.

My first reaction was; Michael Landon's son directed? I want to see it. I was a huge fan of Michael Landon and figured Little House on The Prairie is a show I grew up loving, let's see what Pa's boy has learned! The Confession has nothing to do with the 1800s as the Laura Ingalls Wilder series but it has as much heart as any Little House on The Prairie show that I grew up crying over.

Socialite Laura, is dying. She has a progressive form of cancer. On her quest to get her life in order she had set out to find a daughter she gave up to be raised by an Amish family in Lancaster. Now hearing that her cancer has progressed she is preparing for the end. Katie hears her birth mother was looking for her and heads to NY to find her only to be informed that Laura has already passed, thanks to Laura's selfish husband who has a plan of his own. His problems have gotten him in some hot water and he needs all of Laura's money. Thanks to a well meaning NY friend with a terrible fake accent (there were many poorly acted fake accents), Katie is reassured that if a socialite had passed it would be all over the news and someone is lying. Sooo...Katie sets out to meet her momma.

Things take an interesting turn when Katie arrives and finds out that Laura's daughter has already arrived.

Back in Lancaster, Katie's family is dealing with the return of an old friend while the modern world tries to infiltrate their very beliefs as and Amish family.

The movie moves quickly and while there are a few plot oddities that are unexplainable but would give the whole movie away if I were to list them. I didn't hate it.

The things that may turn viewers off:

Katie leaves her Amish family for the lavish life style seemingly quick.

Laura figures the deceit going on under her roof and explains it away with a letter Katie sent out to her Amish family. You really need to piece it together and remember what Katie had written to her parents.

The ending was God awful. As of now there is no green light for a sequel and the ending demands one.

This movie is both not as deep and not as much about the Amish as the first movie. Sure, the Amish are still part of the story but more as background with a few diversions back to mam and dat in Hickory Hollow. This is more of a story about a con scheme and how it unfolds. The viewer knows most of the players and what the con is. The question is will the con be uncovered and how. I liked the way it played out. A combination of dramatic and sappy. Nice sap. Also, this is not really a romance despite being from Hallmark. There's a hint of romance, but not quite yet.

There is a gripping scene with Katie Leclerc on guitar playing Be Thou My Vision. It was very well done and should have been the closing. This is older Hallmark so I'm not sure if this is out of character at the time, but the hymn is a perfect touch to bring out the faith aspect of the movie.

Instead there is a sequence which reminds the viewer that there is one more chapter in this story.

I didn't think Leclerc had to go as deep as Panabaker did in The Shunning but she still did an excellent job.

The second film based on the Beverly Lewis' 'The Heritage of Lancaster County' trilogy. The first was all about unfolding the secret. It was a good family film, overall a decent film. I knew what to expect from this part, but what I did not was the emotions. I actually thought of it, because of the plot. Since the previous film did not exploit it, it was only a matter of time we get our eyes wet. Yes, it was so touching, especially if you are a lighthearted. Even I felt it, but obviously the film filled with cliches.

I think it does not matter, because only entertainment films can be criticised for not being original. Films about life, if they had focused on reality can be exempted. What I had watched was more a cinematic, more a television quality, but totally acceptable. Even though it had some flaws that I 'm going to assert later.

Now coming to the story, Katie Lapp had left the Amish county to find Laura Mayfield. The challenges await in the world she has never been. But she manages it all well, except why she has come for. Soon finds herself in a mixed up situation, and coming out of it leads the narration to its end.

-xX] Be like a flower. Be beautiful, rain or Shine. [Xx-

I liked it better than the first. Probably one of the best Hallmark films I've seen in the overall account. So what's the negative of the film is the cast. I did not like it, really did not. There's a new Katie Lapp, played by Katie Leclerc. She was amazing. That does not mean Panabaker was bad. She did not retain the role because of the scheduling conflict. That's what they said. But whatever the reason, it did not stop the film to get its standards.

From the actors' perspective, they all did justice to their parts. From the viewer's perspective, it's too bad to see different people in midway. But once you get used to it, there's no difference. Just an enjoyable drama. Not the entire film has been recast. So still it felt very familiar to carry on my watch. Helmed by the same director, it's a nicely done job. As always, short and to the point. Can the next one would keep up the same rhythm is the question that I'll going to find out very soon.

I hope there will not be another Katie Lapp. But anyway, that's the finale of this trilogy, so expecting to end on a high. Almost the basic storyline is all exploited. What might comes is not known. That's what interests me now. So let you know what I think of the trilogy once I finish watching the third. Meanwhile, I say don't miss this if you like television/Hallmark films

7.5/10

7.4 stars.

I liked this one better than 'The Shunning', because there is more to the story and it's not totally shrouded in an Amish atmosphere. The producers could have made the first one better if they had provided more to the story, given us more variety and simply enlarged it a bit more. I certainly didn't enjoy the fact they dropped the original actress for this one. But I'm guessing she chose not to be in this for her own reasons. So we are left with this actress, who at first does not satisfy my subtle desire for continuity and consistency, however she grows on you. Actually, the actress who plays her doppelganger of sorts, was actually a better fit for the leading role. I actually liked her more.

Overall 'The Confession' is not a better film than 'The Shunning' in most respects, like cinematography, acting, music...but what was ten times better is the storyline, writing and dialogue. And we had a sinister man with a sinister plot to get the inheritance (not really sinister, but it was criminal). Just that aspect alone elevates this film above the first. I am somewhat disappointed to have no choice but rate this higher, because the first one was much higher quality production (in my opinion). If only they had made this a two movie set instead of three and stayed with the original actress...