Caroline?

I think this is one of the best tv movies that I have ever seen. STEPHANIE ZIMBALIST was excellent in this movie. The story kept me on the edge of my seat. It is a good mystery and you have to watch it until the end to find out if STEPHANIE is the real CAROLINE or not. This is a keeper and I can't wait until I own it on VHS.

I remember seeing this with my aunt when I was about 8 as a Hallmark movie on CBS. I remembered liking it and never forgot about it. I just saw it again recently on the Hallmark channel, and I don't think the themes are too adult for a child. I basically understood what was going on the first time I saw it. I'm usually not big on what I think of as Lifetime movies, but Caroline? is well made and the performances were believable. I didn't even know it was based on a book, so I can't comment on how accurate it is compared to that. Looking at it as just a movie, without the comparison to a book, it's great. I'd recommend watching it to anyone with a free weekend afternoon.

At first, the only question that seems to be asked in the plot is : "Is she or not Caroline?" Of course the answer you will only have near the end. But central to the movie are also other more universal questions like : "What do you do with a handicapped child?" and then again, more importantly : "What do you do with the (rich) parents of a handicapped child?" This flick kept my interest from the beginning to the end. The psychology of the characters, especially the mother and the young boy, whose lives are organized exclusively around the little girl's handicapped condition, are complex and most interesting.

Discovering "Caroline?" in a flea market video stall bin for a buck and being less than curious by its uninspired packaging, this video seemed doomed for re-recording. Having missed its original airing on NBC in 1990 I was completely unprepared for the luminous screenplay of this partial thriller/part human-interest tale of a young girl who claims to be the daughter of a wealthy Atlanta businessman who had allegedly been killed in a plane crash 15 year prior. What unfolds is an exciting, tautly directed (emmy winner Joseph Sargent) and uniformly brilliant performances by a beautifully cast emsemble. Pamela Reed, as the businessman's second wife (consistently great and underappreciated George Grizzard) delivers a masterpiece of character- a complex woman of cruelty, compassion and fear. Reed is stunning! Ditto Stephanie Zimbalist, heretofore taken for granted as a flavor-of-the-month is astoundingly smart and a real revelation in her only decent non-tv series role of her career. What a shame. The children are a joy, especially 15-year old Shawn Phelan playing a spoiled but delightfully dutiful son . What a horrific tragedy to discover his godawful death in 1997 in an auto accident. It puts a damper on this thrilling achievement. "Caroline?" is a sleeper and a gem and has the guts to abandon its mystery plot pretense to reveal a wonderful tale of philanthropy. Ms. McGuire and Ms. Neal add another dose of class in critical cameos. Easily Hallmark's best and bravest production of the '90's. Jake

Truly remarkable on so many levels, and worth repeated viewings because it's easy to miss some things the first time around. For example, notice who is in the background when Caroline's father laments "I don't even know my own daughter," or the book the adult Winston picks up when speaking to Hilary. The acting is exceptional all around, but especially by Shawn Phelan as young Winston and Jenny Jacobs as Heidi- yes, Jenny Jacobs really does have a disability in real life, and I wouldn't be surprised if the woman who played Hilary also does, as well. Stephanie Zimbalist is luminous as Caroline, and the scenes between her and Patricia Neal (as the headmistress who doesn't believe she's really Caroline) virtually crackle with tension. The ending always puts a lump in my throat, but this is a rare movie that actually earns it's tears. It originally aired on CBS against the Jim Bakker story, which all the critics thought would destroy Caroline in the ratings, but it was the other way around! I've read the book as well and while I liked it, the movie in my opinion is better, because the actors bring the characters to life in a way that the written word can't.