Woman Undone

"Woman Undone" is an exercise in bad moviemaking. The story is idiotic, the dialogue is amateurish, and the acting is wooden. The cinematography is unimpressive. The movie even looks bad, like it was shot on cheap film stock.

There are a few capable actors here, but none of them seem particularly enthused about being involved in this nonsense.

Mary McDonnell plays Terri, an unhappy wife who has relocated to L. A. with her jealous, moody husband (Randy Quaid). In the opening scenes, they're out in the desert, and he is burned to a crisp in their car while she stands on a hill with a horrified look on her face. The local sheriff is sympathetic after what appears to be a horrible accident. No big spoiler: It's not. An autopsy reveals that The charred corpse of her husband had a bullet in his brain.

A semi-retired lawyer (Sam Elliott) agrees to take Terri's case when she is arrested for murder. Just to add to the silliness, we learn in flashbacks that Terri has been boffing a young swim instructor (Benjamin Bratt, in what must be his dumbest role ever).

Did Terri murder her husband? The outcome is somewhat unexpected, but it doesn't lend any sympathy to her pathetic character.

You'll watch this one with a smirk on your face, and you'll cringe repeatedly as you witness some genuinely terrible film making. It's so bad that it's almost fun.

When I was an editor I was hired to create a promo for a film distributing convention for "A Woman Undone". What was most enjoyable about the job was that I could use any background music I wanted because the finished product would not be seen by any paying customers. I chose music by Bernard Herrmann written for a 1971 British film, The Night Digger. I was very proud of my final product. I feel that I made the Showtime film intriguing and suspenseful when it may have not been. A bit of trivia is that One of the actresses, Georgann Johnson went to school with my mother, Marjorie Talle.

Dean Peter Merriman.

I watched this whole movie in fast forward (20 mins tops) , because its gets stupid then more stupid. the only little good thing is ending.

Even its late 90s movie , so i thought it would be some good direction and story line but yeh i forgot its TV MOVIE. so the director didnt put much effort in it.

married couple with a daughter moved to small town to REPAIR the broken marriage , because wife was unfaithful , so instead fixing it , she gone AGAIN for some romantic action. this where the movie goes very stupid. means how or why the hek she drops panties soo FAST for hot stud. it gets more stupid , when husband SUSPECT that there is something going on but Ignored the wife like nothing happened and suddenly he got violent ?.

but anyhow, a little relief in the end. that she got what she deserved.

Interesting lead actors and their characters were involving enough to make me stick it out to the end of this so-so film. Sam Elliott played the only likable character. He's solid as the lawyer in here.

Mary McDonnell, famous for playing "Stands With A Fist" in "Dances With Wolves," plays a cheating wife and Randy Quaid, usually a comedian, is anything but here, playing an abusive husband.

Most of the story is told in flashback after Quaid is killed fairly early on.

It's kind of a soap opera at times but kept my interest going just to see what would happen to McDonell's character, "Teri Hansen."

A good cast is wasted on what might have been an intriguing story. Unfortunately, it is hurt by the execution. This slow-moving film looks like it was made on the cheap - in fact, parts of it appear to have been filmed at a motel. Mary McDonnell, a wonderful actress and a beautiful woman, is miscast as a femme fatale. Her hair is unnaturally dark and apparently the cameraman despised her. How she tells Benjamin Bratt (wasted in a poorly-defined role) that she's 36 with a straight face is a tribute to her acting.

It's a shame because the story was an interesting one, not going exactly the way one expects. But I wonder how many people stuck with it long enough for the plot to unfold. However, miscast or not, it's always a pleasure to see McDonnell, and great to see Sam Elliott.