A Mother’s Lie (2021 Lifetime)
Cast: Alex Paxton-Beesley, Madelyn Keys, Sonja Smits, Gabriel Venneri
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Synopsis (via Lifetime)
A dark family secret comes to light when a woman finds a bone marrow donor for her granddaughter. (2021)
Thoughts
The movie begins on a beautiful estate. The home is filled with old family photos, and Joyce stands nervously outside of the attic stairwell. Upstairs, Katherine has just delivered a baby. Joyce breaks the news that the baby didn’t make it, which is, of course, a lie. A MOTHER’S LIE. The baby is given away to Dr. Baker.
Flash to twenty years later. Katherine is married to a hunky man named Chuck. (Who also happens to be the father of the secrets baby._ They attend a benefit for their newer daughter Hailey’s cancer treatment. A bone marrow transplant is the only way to save the child. Dr. Baker attends the gala and asks Joyce why she won’t tell Katherine the truth. It could save Hayle because the baby give up for adoption could be a match.
Cut to Libby, the adopted baby, who is at college on scholarship. The grant is taken away, and Libby’s boyfriend Will offers to help pay for her classes. Joyce tracks Libby down with a different plan. She casually mentions a bone marrow drive and convinces Libby to attend. (There is a reward for a match. Libby sees a way out of her situation.)
The need for a donor becomes dire when Hailey is admitted to the hospital. She is in bad shape and isn’t expected to make it much longer. Katherine comes clean about the teen pregnancy/”stillbirth,” and Chuck understandably feels betrayed.
Libby learns that she is a match and quickly agrees to donate the bone marrow. She signs a contract with a shady lawyer who is working with the creepy man. The contract stipulates that Libby must remain anonymous and entitles her to a week’s recovery with “luxury accommodations.” Libby brings Will along with her.
At the hospital, Will runs into Katherine, and they talk about stuffed animals as gifts. She helps him pick out a bear and learns that his girlfriend is not sick. Then Katherine sees Dr. Baker in the hospital and yells at her for not telling her about her daughter’s death. Dr. Baker realizes that Joyce lied to Katherine twenty years ago.
Dr. Baker confronts Joyce at her home, which is a fatal mistake because Joyce kills Dr. Baker with a fire poker. Then she calls the creepy guy to clean up the body. Katherine stops by the house, finds Dr. Baker’s cellphone, and sees the creeper loading up a rolled-up carpet. She begins to suspect her mother is up to no good. (Ya think, Katherine?!?!?! Could it be any more obvious a murder has taken place?)
When Libby wakes up for surgery, Will is there with a huge teddy bear. He asks her if she remembers anything from the surgery, and a memory flashes of the nurse telling her that she is helping her little sister. Will ic confused because Libby doesn’t have a little sister, or does she?
Katherine shares her concerns with Chuck, who laughs them off. In the parking lot, she sees Will with the giant teddy and gives a little wave. Then she sees Libby and, deep down, knows that she is the donor.
Louis, the creepy guy, takes Will and Libby to the beautiful estate. They are introduced to Nora, the house manager. She lays down the house rules, which include no going outside or up in the attic. Will and Libby are creeped out but agree. In the middle of the night, Nora sits and watches Libby sleep. Will come to her rescue, and they kiss.
Back at the hospital, the nurse violates patient privacy and asks Katherine about her daughter Libby. Joyce overhears and is horrified that the nurse has put everything together. Joyce screams at the nurse and kicks her out of the hospital room. Then she follows the nurse into the stairwell and pushes her down the stairs. (It IS a Lifetime movie, after all.)
Libby snoops around the lake house and finds a photo of Katherine when she was pregnant in 1999. Nora catches her and snatches the photo away. Libby starts to think that Katherine is her mother and convinces Will to sneak into the attic. They find the makeshift birthing room and are horrified. They quickly pack their bags, but Will is knocked out, and Libby is locked in her room.
Katherine is also starting to piece things together. She learns that Joyce prearranged the bone marrow donor and lied about the baby’s death years ago. Upset, she calls Chuck to share the news.
Joyce heads to the lake house after seeing Libby and Will in the attic. She pours some tea and tells Libby the truth. Libby is related to Katherine, and Joyce gave her up for adoption. Joyce even admits to lying and saying Libby was dead to save her reputation. The tea is drugged, and Joyce plans on getting rid of Libby for good.
The plans are thwarted when Katherine shows up and finds Libby unconscious. Joyce smashes her daughter in the face with a lamp. (WHHHHAAAA?)
Libby wakes up in the birthing attic with Will, who is thankfully alive. Katherine sees her mother about to inject a lethal dose into Libby. She screams,
“GET AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER!!!”
Katherine and Libby takedown Joyce and kill her. They are taken to the hospital, and Libby is introduced to her sister.
Two months later, they are all one big happy family. They enjoy some cake at the lake house for Hayley’s birthday, which is weird. Libby says it feels like home… minus the murders and creepy attic.
A card and gift are delivered, and it seems that Joyce is still alive and out there somewhere.
Side Note
Minority Report: Lauren, Erin, Doctor Green,
This was a well-directed and written thriller for Lifetime. (Maybe too good for Lifetime?) Not complaining; I highly recommend it.
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Overall rating
🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪 (5 Knives)
🍷🍷🍷 (3 glasses of wine required.)
*Photo Credit: © 2021 Lifetime® | A+E Networks®
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