A Mother on the Edge (2019 Lifetime)
Cast: Kelly Thiebaud, Matt Hamilton, Alison Wandzura, Lina Renna
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Synopsis (via Lifetime)
A mother is forced to question her sanity when her daughter disappears and she’s told that she’s been dead for over a year, igniting a chase for the truth in order to save her little girl’s life before it’s too late.
Thoughts
Blair is texting while driving with her husband (Simon) and daughter (Lori) in the car. Simon is yelling at Blair about money (He blew his trust fund on a bad investment.) and tells her to stop texting. She gets in an accident because she is distracted. When Blair wakes up, it was just a dream?
Lori is starting at a new school (Grade three!) because her parents are separated. Apparently, the accident really did happen, and Lori and Blair have nightmares all the time. With Simon out of the picture, Blaire hires a babysitter and then has to work… she does something random with computers and apps? Who cares! Blair is all jumpy around cars and doesn’t like to drive anymore. Good thing, Lori’s school is only 5 blocks from her new house!
When Blair goes to pick up Lori from school, she is surprised to learn that Lori is not waiting for her. The teacher doesn’t have her on the class roster. The secretary searches her database and doesn’t find Lori registered at the school at all. After yelling at the people who are trying to help her, Blair rushes to the parking lot. She frantically asks random kids if they have seen her daughter. Then she runs 5 blocks in slow motion.
Back at home, Lori is nowhere to be found. Eloise, the babysitter, is nowhere to be found either, and her phone has been disconnected. Blaire faces her fear and gets in the car, after crashing a few times she makes it to Simon’s house and tells him that their daughter is missing. Simon blames the accident and tells her to calm down, she isn’t thinking clearly. He tells her that Lori is dead and died in the car accident. She is delusional, and Simon says she needs to go get help.
Blair does just that! She rushes to her therapist and asks if she is crazy. The therapist corrects her and tells her that it is not a clinical term… but, yes. She is crazy, and her daughter is dead.
Blair then goes to the police. A Lady cop helps her, but really is just appearing her. When Blair realizes that all her photos from the last two months have been wiped, she demands a forensic data scan on her phone, RIGHT AWAY! The lady cop shows Blair the death certificate for her daughter.
Blair goes to the graveyard and finds her daughter’s headstone. It is like that scene at the end of a Christmas Carol with no Ghost of Christmas Past. Blaire cries and cries and remembers the car accident and the morning that never really happened. As she cries, Simon shows up with flowers to put on the grave. Blair has accepted the truth about her daughter and even lets Simon come home with her and help pack up Lori’s room.
When Simon goes to the bathroom, Blair finds a drawing that Lori made depicting her first day of grade three! Then, Simon’s phone rings. It is someone named Kincaid, and the female voice asks if everything is going according to plan and tells him nice work. Blair yells:
“KINCAID, YOU SON OF A GUN!!!” as Simon tears the phone out of her hands.
Simon tells Blair to calm down, and we know she doesn’t like that. She punches that man in the face, throws him down, and runs downstairs to answer the door. It is Cynthia, Blair’s lawyer. She witnesses them fighting, and Simon throws Blair to the ground and calls her delusional.
Blair explains to Cynthia and to us that Kincaid (The CEO of one of the hottest game companies in the country) is financing Simon’s plan. She had her “coding monkeys” falsify records, pay off the babysitter and the therapist, and destroy her credibility. Blair claims that she is being Gaslit, and Simon and Kincaid are doing this to save millions of dollars he would lose in a divorce and get custody of Lori. Cynthia admits that she has never met Lori, and the story she is telling her seems a little too much. None of this is going to hold up in the court of law.
Blair sneaks into Kincaid’s mansion. (I think?) The place is crawling with security, so good thing Blair is dressed and all black and very sneaky. She climbs up on the roof and sees Lori sleeping on a couch. Instead of getting her daughter, she leaves before getting caught. The security guard reviews the footage and sees that Blair was on the premises.
At court, Blair tries punching Simon again. Cynthia tells Blair to cool it. Instead, Lori pulls an Atticus Finch and goes into lawyer mode and begs with the judge to help her find her daughter. Kincaid’s lawyer presents the records of Lori’s death and shows the images of Blair on her property. Blair freaks out and makes a scene in the courtroom. Judge Judy would NEVER let this happen in her courtroom. Outside of court, Blair knees Simon in the balls and tells him he is being played by Kincaid. Then she hits him with her purse and storms off. (I kind of love this woman.)
The security guard brings Lori a happy meal, and it doesn’t make her happy. Lori cries that she just wants to go home and be with her mom. The security guard tells her that he works for the court, but that is a lie.
Since Cynthia will no longer help Blair, she takes matters into her own hands. She takes pictures of the security and Kincaid talking. She also looks into the babysitter. (Who gave her card to Blair.) Blair goes to the printing company that made the sign and finds babysitter’s real address. Blair stakes out the place and follows the babysitter goes for a jog. Blair tackles her and demands to know who made her do this and to tell the police. The babysitter fights Blair off and tries to run away, but is hit by a car. Driven by the security guard.
At Simon’s place, Blair breaks in with a bat. She beats the shit out of Simon to get the answers she is looking for. Simon tells Blair that Lori is alive and with Kincaid’s bodyguard. Blair shows Simon that she was recording their whole conversation and is going to go to the cops. Lucky for her, the police show up, oh wait. No UNLUCKY for her the cops show up and distract Blair long enough for Simon to punch her in the face and knock her out. Simon deletes the recording. He tells the police that she attacked him unprovoked and denies all the stories that Blair tells the police.
Blair gets charged with assault and arrested. Cynthia comes to the rescue, and Blair tells her that Simon is going to pick up Lori from the security guard at midnight. On her way out, Cynthia sees Simon talking to the security guard and thinks that Blair may be telling the truth after all. She reviews the documents from the accident and realizes the security guard killed the babysitter.
While checking to see if she is fit to stand trial, the therapist tries to get Blair to know the truth about Lori being dead. Blair pretends to realize that she remembers her daughter dying, and as the therapist goes to get Blair some tissues, she gets bashed in the head by Blair. Then Blair steals the therapist’s clothing and glasses, pepper sprays and bludgeons a security officer, and escapes the precinct. The lady cop even sees Blair leaving but doesn’t realize it is her in time to stop her from stealing the therapist’s car and going to save her daughter!
The security guard and Kincaid talk on the phone, she tells him to get rid of the kid. Lori is sassy in the car and emotionally manipulates the security guard to stopping and letting her pee at a gas station. Once she is out of the vehicle, Lori screams for help, and a man calls the cops. Before getting thrown back in the car, Lori calls the security guard a total douchebag.
Cynthia works in the same office as Kincaid and overhears the conversation? She follows Kincaid in the parking garage and then trails her car.
Blair finds the meeting point with the security guard and Simon. Simon gets Lori, and then they are held at gunpoint by the security guard. He knows Blair is there and tells her to come out, or he will kill her family. Blair comes out, and pepper sprays the security guard and beats him with a lead pipe. (This movie is so violent!) Lori kicks her dad in the shin and runs off to hide, but Simon grabs her and runs off to his car. Blair chases them with the security guard chasing after her. Blair ends up impaling the security guard and killing him.
Simon meets with Kincaid and realizes he was getting screwed over. He punches Kincaid in the face. Cynthia records the whole thing on her phone and calls the police.
Blair runs out and grabs the gun she points it at Simon, who is in the car with Lori. Simon almost runs her over, but Lori grabs the wheel, and they crash. Blair holds the gun to Simon and tells Lori to close her eyes. Blair elbows Simon in the face and is reunited with Lori. Mother and daughter hug as the police arrive on the scene. Cynthia tells Blair she got everything on tape, and they will have their day in court.
Back at grade three. Lori gives Blair a picture she drew in a class of Blair, Lori, and “Aunt Cynthia.” Turns out, Blair and Cynthia are dating! Just kidding, they’re just friends. Blair is going to get a lot of money from the trial against Kincaid, and she will testify against her husband in court.
Side Note
No shade but, Simon is not the typical Lifetime leading man. No shirtless scenes? I mean, step it up!
Minority Report: NONE…
This movie was sooo complicated. I liked the gaslighting acknowledgment and the reveal that Blair may be mentally unstable. It was done well and fell apart in the second half.
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Overall rating
🔪🔪🔪 (3 Knives)
🍷🍷🍷 (3 glasses of wine required)
*Photo Credit: © 2019 Lifetime
Typical demonization of men, husbands, and fathers.
Kincaid went to Cynthia’s office to try and buy her silence and Cynthia overheard the phone conversation (outside her office in the lobby) and then followed Kincaid to the rendezvous. Blair followed Simon as well by waiting up the street.
The business card was a nice touch.
Did I miss something, or didn’t Blair have any friends or family who could help her out and testify that Lori was alive and well after the accident? Maybe I’m too much of a realist.