Lost Behind Bars

LOST BEHIND BARS (TV movie 2006) 2 out of 10 stars Time to Read: 2:56 min

BASIC PLOT: Lauren Wilde (Paget Brewster) is a documentarian, whose latest project is on death row inmates. The last subject of her film is Kevin Reese (Antonio Cupo), a man convicted of killing his girlfriend, her husband, and two small children. He has no memory of the event, but since he was found at the scene, covered in blood, he has accepted his fate.

Lauren is not satisfied with the official story. The more questions she asks, the less answers she has, and none of it is adding up. She's uncovered dirty cops, sleezy lawyers, missing case files, and lots of threats from just about everybody. Lauren is convinced she's headed in the right direction, but when two murders take place while she's investigating, she knows her life is in imminent danger. With only three days left before Reese's execution, can Lauren put the pieces together in time, to save his life, and maybe her own?

WHAT WORKS: *PAGET BREWSTER IS A COMMANDING PRESENCE IN WHATEVER PROJECT SHE TAKES ON Paget Brewster does a fine job (for the most part) with this flawed script. When she slips, it's due to the inadequacies of the material she's working with, not because of her acting chops.

*THE SMALL TOWN SETTING IS BELIEVABLE The locations used set the stage for a claustrophobic, close minded, small town, ready to get out their torches and pitchforks. Good job to the location scouts, and to the location manager, Karen Zajac.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: *THERE'S ZERO CHEMISTRY BETWEEN KEVIN & AMANDA If everyone is supposed to believe it's a crime of passion, then you need passion! And there's not any between these two. To be honest, she looks like she's repulsed by him.

*A RICH TROPHY WIFE MEETS A ROADSIDE MECHANIC, AND AFTER ONLY FIVE MINUTES, SHE AGREES TO GO TO HIS TRAILER PARK TO LOOK AT HIS ARTWORK?! Really? What is this, a letter from the 1980's Penthouse Forum? This is supposed to be a believable plotline from writers, Mac Hampton & Luanne Ensle!

*HE'S A TORTURED ARTIST? First of all, his artwork is barely art at all. Second, what does it mean to be a tortured artist? And why would that make you need booze & pills? It doesn't make any sense, and it's a stupid plotline.

*LAUREN GOES TO DETECTIVE REDLER, AND HE SAYS THE CASE FILES ARE MISSING Wouldn't she just go to Reese's lawyer instead? In a death penalty case, appeals proceed up to the last second. Reese's attorney's would have all the necessary documentation she's looking for. On another note: with the case files suddenly missing, he would get a stay of execution. This is just silliness, to the point of being insulting, even for a made-for-tv time waster.

WHY DOES DETECTIVE REDLER WORK OUT OF TWO DIFFERENT BUILDINGS? When we first see Detective Redler (Robert Wisden), he's coming out of the Hillsdale County Public Safety building, telling us he's either a sheriff, or state police. But ten minutes later, he's in a completely different building, labeled "Police Department", indicating he's a local cop. Why have the two buildings? This is confusing to the audience to say the least.

*WHY DOES MARK EVANS, LAUREN'S PARTNER KEEP TELLING HER TO STAY OUT OF THE CASE? Mark (Doron Bell), keeps demanding Lauren stay out of Reese's case. Why?! As a fellow documentarian, he'd want the best story possible, and clearing an innocent man is certainly a better story than covering the last month of a guilty inmate's life.

*THE CHIEF FORENSIC SCIENTIST OF A SMALL TOWN, SUDDENLY RETIRES TO A TROPICAL LOCALE, AND NO ONE IS SKEPTICAL? Gayle Lerner (Meg Roe) the head of forensics on the Reese case, is suddenly retiring to Costa Rica, and at a young age, but no one is suspicious she might be compromised? Why does Lauren trust Gayle? Also, why does Gayle always look like a deer in the headlights, no matter the scene? Eating pizza? Deer in the headlights. Listening to a heart wrenching story, still deer in the headlights! Get a new facial expression!

*I'VE SAID IT BEFORE, & I'LL SAY IT AGAIN, YOU DON'T NEED TO KILL OFF CHARACTERS, WHEN A WOUNDING OR COMA WILL DO So many made-for-tv movies are needlessly bloody, and this is no exception. There's no need to kill people off, as a writer, if you need to remove them, a grievous injury (with a miraculous healing at the end of the movie) works just as well. It's a lazy writer's crutch & it often muddles the story (as it does here), instead of helping it.

*REESE'S EXECUTION WOULD BE STOPPED AFTER LAUREN UNCOVERS MCCAFFREY'S MALFEASANCE Lauren uncovers severe malpractice on the part of Jerry McAffrey (Bruno Verdoni), Reese's attorney. This would be enough to get a stay of execution while the matter was looked into by the court of appeals. More inane plotlines from Mac Hampton & Luanne Ensle.

TO RECOMMEND, OR NOT TO RECOMMEND, THAT IS THE QUESTION: *I can't recommend this film, except to die hard Paget Brewster fans. If you absolutely must see everything she's in, she is the only thing worth watching here. By the half way mark, I'm looking longingly at the fast forward button. I'm bored, I don't believe the main characters would be this stupid, there's plotlines that don't make sense, and the absolute worst part is, I don't give a damn about any of the characters. This is a waste of Paget Brewster and Robert Wisden, two fine actors, who deserve better. Don't waste your time.

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. This review was NOT written in full, or in part, by a bot. I am just an honest viewer, who wishes for more straight forward reviews (less trolls and fanboys), and better entertainment. Hope I helped you out.