The Lost Honor of Kathryn Beck

Marlo Thomas does a fairly fine job in this television remake of the 1975 German film "The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum" in which she plays a single woman who picks up a charming man at a party and takes him home with her; unfortunately, he's a terrorist-suspect under surveillance by the police--and once the marauding press become involved (selling the story as pure sensationalism), the woman's private life becomes headline news. In the film's early scenes, Thomas is flirtatious and lovely, traits which are quickly abandoned once her home is invaded and she's dragged through the proverbial mud. The movie loses its humanity just as Marlo loses her innate sparkle, and the lack of self-effacing humor or light relief of any kind makes the film a heavy wallow. Still, it takes several trenchant, trendy swipes at exploitative journalistic tactics and ends on a thoughtful note.