Dating a Sociopath (2019 Lifetime)

Dating a Sociopath (2019 Lifetime)

Cast: Jessalyn Gilsig, Jon Cor, Hannah Vandenbygaart

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Synopsis (via Lifetime)

Heartbroken over her parent’s breakup and recovering from a car accident, Jane becomes increasingly suspicious of her mother’s charming new boyfriend.

Thoughts

A woman lies dead in a bathtub surrounded by candles. Her wrists have been slit, and someone in black gloves removes her diamond bracelet.

Cut to a couple arguing, they have both been drinking. Samantha, the wife, stays at home to “cool off” while her husband picks up their musician daughter, Jane, from a gig. (I 100% thought they were hookers.) The father becomes distracted while on a call and crashes the car. He is minimally hurt, but Jane is injured with reduced mobility and multiple infections.

Two months later, Samantha is very concerned with her daughter and is overbearing. While Jane was recovering in the hospital, Samantha kicked out her husband and has a new boyfriend named Brian. The stress of the accident was too much for the marriage. Jane is angry with her mother but tries to get along for the benefit of her younger sister, Tilly.

Things are tense while Samantha and Jane do some shopping and head to physical therapy. It gets even more awkward when Jane’s personal trainer is Samantha’s new boyfriend, Brian. He invites himself over for dinner. Jane isn’t excited, but her bandmate/friend from High School Karli is and calls Samantha a “Cougar.” (A phrase that needs to be over.)

With Karli’s help, Jane tracks down her dad in a hotel. She tells him that she needs her father around and informs him about Brian. Then she finds bottles of alcohol around the room and knows why her parent’s relationship is on the rocks. When the father drops Jane off at home, he and his wife get into a heated argument. Brian tries to intervene (But secretly says he is sleeping with the wife and will raise his kids.) and gets punched in the face. The police are called, and Samantha files a restraining order against her husband.

To cope with her family issues, Jane starts to self medicate with her pain pills. Brian is always around canoodling with Samantha. He even spends the night. In the middle of the night, Brian swaps out jane’s pills with some that he has in the trunk of his car. Things are looking more suspicious when Brian gets Samantha a bracelet. It is the same bracelet that the bathtub lady was wearing.

Brian and Jane go out to lunch and drink martinis. (My kind of lunch!) Jane grills him on his intentions with her mother. The alcohol mixed with the pain pills affects Jane, and she feels her feelings. Lucky for her, she is with Karli, who makes fun of her for being drunk. (I thought something worse was going to happen.)

Jane’s need for pain pills is increating. She can’t even finish a test at school without reaching for her pill bottle. She starts popping five or more at a time. Eventually, it is too much for her body, and Jane passes out. She is rushed to the hospital. It is a wake-up call for Jane, and she begs for her mother to help her. It is a ploy for her to get time alone with her father to tell him what is going on. Jane knows that Brian is swapping out her pills. She asks her dad to look into Brian’s past.

While Brian and Samantha take Tilly to a movie, Jane and Karli break into Brian’s house. Jane is using a cane now and has her strength up. They take pictures of everything they find, including A fax machine, a lockbox full of cash, and a bag of jewelry. When Jane comes home, Brian knows that something is a miss. Jane barricades her door at night.

Brian discovers that Jane was in his house and has stolen his stash of jewels. Brian headbutts Samantha while drinking wine in the hot tub in the middle of the day, and then he kidnaps Tilly. He then calls Jane and ransoms Tilly for his stolen goods.

Jane and Karli track Tilly by her watch and are lead to an abandoned mansion. Jane hobbles to the estate with her cane. She uses said cane to break a window and unlock a side door. Jane finds Tilly locked in an attic and starts to lead her out of the house. Karli calls to let Jane know that Brian is on his way back to the house and then calls the police.

Brian searches the house with a pocket knife looking for Jane. Jane sneaks up behind him and knocks him over the stair railing with her cane and kills him. Karli, Jane, and Tilly hug as the police pull up the driveway.

At the hospital, Samantha and Paul are together. (He saved her from the hot tub.) The whole family is reunited in the hospital room, and everyone is okay—the end.

Side Note

Minority Report: Karli

Also known as The Sweetheart

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Overall rating

🔪🔪 (2 Knives)

🍷🍷🍷 (3 glasses of wine required.)