Dying for a Family

An incredible movie that held my attention for the entire film and kept me on the edge of my seat. I take pride in my ability to solve mysteries before the movie reveals them, but Dying For a Family had me questioning every turn! The stand out of the movie to me is the performance of Alaska Leigh (Hannah). Everything I've seen her in glows, her energy lights up a screen and you can't seem to take your eyes off her. When she speaks it's so natural you almost forget you're watching a film and not talking to a friend. The film has a perfectly balanced recipe, you never get bored and the dialogue is so well written and natural yet Alaska still makes it her own. She absorbs the character Hannah and plays her with her whole chest. 10/10!

I can't speak to the story that was told because we turned it off after the first 20 minutes. It was excruciating. The acting was way over the top and stiff. The dialog was hilariously unbelievable, especially the father.. The whole thing kind of reminded me of a 1980's porn flick without the porn. All it needed was cheesy soundtrack. This had to be written by someone with zero experience and no idea how people speak or react in real life. I think that to even equate this to a lifetime movie would be a stretch. I find it unbelievable that a movie studio would actually release this more less charge people to watch it.

This is a story about two girls who were adopted by a family which consisted of a mother and father who could not have children of their own. They adopted the two girls who had been in foster care. The acting was so overdone, especially the mother role, this woman cannot act. There are so many actors in the world, why? Besides that, this is just another formulaic Lifetime movie. I could sit through it but it was irritating at times because of the bad acting. Basically a teenage girl goes missing, adoptive mother freaks out, father stays calm and sister looks for her. Boyfriend who's supposedly not in the picture act shady. End of story.

Darcie and Hannah are siblings with Gillian as their foster mom who is married to Keith. Gillian wants to adopt them! Hannah ends up missing one night and even her boyfriend doesn't know where she is because she was supposed to see him but they never hooked up! They file a missing persons report but the detectives on the case are clueless. However, there's a shocking mystery uncovered in Hannah's phone by Darcie that could lead to whether Hannah is still alive and exactly where she is! Will Darcie get to her in time? This is another Lifetime mystery movie that retreads the same old trope. The Canadian cast and the script are fine, though. Recommended for a watch!

Full disclosure, I turned this movie off as soon as I figured out what was happening....because a very similar plot was used in a movie that premiered the Friday before this one. Literally the role was the same and actually the clues were the same because I figured out the villain very early in the movie due to a certain character's behavior. It was obvious. "Twists" in Lifetime movies are so rare that what I guessed was happening was 100% right and the movie played it very straight with not even a hint of a twist. This movie aired as part of Stranger Danger month, and SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER even that was misdirection.

Now I can be a cynic when it comes to these movies, but I do give credit when it's due. There have been some good ones this year, but this isn't one of them. It's watchable but nothing special. I give the movie props because the sisters truly looked like sisters and there was a sweet and touching family scene before Hannah got taken.