Dr. Lucas painted venom on old man Harry's steering wheel. Venom cannot be absorbed into the skin. The molecules of venom are too big to be absorbed, so they have to be injected. So it's very implausible that Harry would've died, and so quickly.
15 Reviews
Fatally flawed
Jonas196923 January 2011
This is an OK way to spend a little time, but the conclusion really didn't work.
The lead, Kate, is played by Amy Jo Johnson who is best known (to me at least) for her role as Julie on Felicity. Here she plays a young widower with a son that decides to "move back home" after her husband dies in front of a train.
What starts as a drama gradually becomes a murder mystery. The story is very formulaic and predictable but the actors mostly do a decent job. It never really becomes scary because the outcome is so easy to predict, but that would have been OK with me were it not for the conclusion shown after the story is done.
The director, Philippe Gagnon, has some potential but still has a long way to go. The flashbacks used don't add to the story and the romance is not done with any flair. Despite all it's flaws I still thought this was an OK way to spend a sleepless night - just don't go in expecting much.
The lead, Kate, is played by Amy Jo Johnson who is best known (to me at least) for her role as Julie on Felicity. Here she plays a young widower with a son that decides to "move back home" after her husband dies in front of a train.
What starts as a drama gradually becomes a murder mystery. The story is very formulaic and predictable but the actors mostly do a decent job. It never really becomes scary because the outcome is so easy to predict, but that would have been OK with me were it not for the conclusion shown after the story is done.
The director, Philippe Gagnon, has some potential but still has a long way to go. The flashbacks used don't add to the story and the romance is not done with any flair. Despite all it's flaws I still thought this was an OK way to spend a sleepless night - just don't go in expecting much.
Cosy TV movie
juliesherwin-2554026 October 2021
Pretty good television movie
MMcCSLH5 January 2007
Warning: Spoilers
I caught and taped this telemovie on Lifetime, watched it twice. The second time I understood the plot a lot better. I think the pace of the movie is very fast, so if you're not paying attention to any given scene you will be totally lost.
I thought all the actors we're exceptional. The antagonist is quite interesting and well portrayed, Amy Jo Johnson shows some range as she plays Kate quite well. I'm still impressed by her ability to still play teenagers (flashback sequence). She is so very very beautiful in this movie, maybe even more beautiful than 10 years ago! Due to her youthful appearances, its sometimes hard to remember that she is an adult; the film gives us no idea on how old she was supposed to be. Judging by her son who looks about 10, I would presume that she was supposed to be in her late 20s?
My one complaint would be for the flashbacks to have been more clear; especially the ones with Kate's former husband, who looks just like her soon to be new boyfriend. It really confused me the first time I watched.
Despite a few flaws here and there, highly recommended movie.
I thought all the actors we're exceptional. The antagonist is quite interesting and well portrayed, Amy Jo Johnson shows some range as she plays Kate quite well. I'm still impressed by her ability to still play teenagers (flashback sequence). She is so very very beautiful in this movie, maybe even more beautiful than 10 years ago! Due to her youthful appearances, its sometimes hard to remember that she is an adult; the film gives us no idea on how old she was supposed to be. Judging by her son who looks about 10, I would presume that she was supposed to be in her late 20s?
My one complaint would be for the flashbacks to have been more clear; especially the ones with Kate's former husband, who looks just like her soon to be new boyfriend. It really confused me the first time I watched.
Despite a few flaws here and there, highly recommended movie.
A Killer Doctor
sddavis6327 July 2018
I get the play on words with the title. "Fatal Trust" refers to the fact (as Kate points out in the movie) that we routinely and without a second thought place our lives in the hands of complete strangers who we allow to do all sorts of invasive things to us just because they're doctors. It's a point that gets made in the closing captions of the movie, which share a couple of incidents in which doctors were guilty of murdering their patients. So the point is clear - doctors are humans, and just because they're doctors doesn't mean that they can't kill. Point taken. And I thought the climactic confrontation between Kate and Dr. Lucas was reasonably exciting. But overall the movie was something of a disappointment.
Kate (Amy Jo Johnson - who I'm not at all familiar with) moves from the big city back to the small town where she grew up after her husband is murdered. She gets a job working as assistant to Dr. Lucas (David Haydn-Jones - also not really familiar with him) and over the course of time (a short period of time) she becomes suspicious because several of his elderly patients (including her own mother before Kate moved back) die suddenly.
So it's a kind of murder mystery, and it's honestly nothing special. The acting and writing are both second-rate, and the revelation of how the doctor actually kills his victims actually made me chuckle a little bit because it seemed so silly. It's thankfully fairly short at a little under an hour and a half (it was made for TV and was probably two hours once commercials were inserted) and I'll give it the credit of saying that the story does move along relatively well. Unfortunately, it's just not that good a movie. (3/10)
Kate (Amy Jo Johnson - who I'm not at all familiar with) moves from the big city back to the small town where she grew up after her husband is murdered. She gets a job working as assistant to Dr. Lucas (David Haydn-Jones - also not really familiar with him) and over the course of time (a short period of time) she becomes suspicious because several of his elderly patients (including her own mother before Kate moved back) die suddenly.
So it's a kind of murder mystery, and it's honestly nothing special. The acting and writing are both second-rate, and the revelation of how the doctor actually kills his victims actually made me chuckle a little bit because it seemed so silly. It's thankfully fairly short at a little under an hour and a half (it was made for TV and was probably two hours once commercials were inserted) and I'll give it the credit of saying that the story does move along relatively well. Unfortunately, it's just not that good a movie. (3/10)
What's up doc?
kosmasp23 January 2023
Evil is what is up - no pun intended. Of course the movie at hand is not hard to decipher. You will have no trouble at all to see where it is going. So if you are a fan of mysteries in your thrillers ... well this ain't the movie to watch for you. If you have soft spot for movies of the week on the other hand ... well you can guess yourself (you know I love me some puns).
All that being said, it is nice to see Amy Jo Johnson in something again. I had seen her in that canadian cop show - but obviously she has done much more things. Suspend your disbelief and just go with the flow - otherwise you won't have any fun at all with this (no pun intended)
All that being said, it is nice to see Amy Jo Johnson in something again. I had seen her in that canadian cop show - but obviously she has done much more things. Suspend your disbelief and just go with the flow - otherwise you won't have any fun at all with this (no pun intended)
A Decent Daytime TV Flick.
P3n-E-W1s318 January 2018
This film actually surprised me by how good it was. Now I'm not saying it's brilliant, I'm not! Though for a daytime TV movie this is good fare.
Kate (Johnson) and her son have suffered the violent loss of a lover and father so she decides it's time to leave the city and head home, where her sister, Jessica (Alt), runs a diner. As she's pulling into town, she passes an accident where a woman has died of a heart attack while driving. As time passes, Kate begins to learn that this isn't the first heart attack in the small town. Could her new boss, Dr Lucas (Haydn-Jones), be behind the deaths in some way(?) So she sets out to find out the truth.
Here is the first thing I think could have been better. It would have been a stronger storyline had we not been shown the killer at quite an early stage in the film. Had the writer and director decided to make this into a whodunnit with lots of twists and red herrings this would have been a brilliant movie. It wouldn't have been that difficult to do as the person who's playing the killer is so normal it would have been difficult to guess.
The other thing would be her relationship with her son. There's just too little here. At times, you even forget she's a mother. Who know's there may be some of these scene's laying on the cutting room floor. I just think it would have strengthened her character and added a few heartwarming and tearful scenes. This, in turn, could have branched off a story arch where they, as a family, developed more - especially the climax, which was over a little too fast. With an added threat to her son, the director could have ramped up the tension so the audience was on the edge of their seats.
Those are my only quirks as the film is well directed and acted throughout. There is one scene which is especially great. After killing an elderly resident, the killer sits back while sipping tea. It's the exhale of their deep breath, the look of calm satisfaction, and the shudder of utter bliss, which gave me the shivers right down to the bone.
If you love your thrillers without the mystery element then I'd recommend this film to you. It's an engrossing and entertaining way to waste an hour or two.
Kate (Johnson) and her son have suffered the violent loss of a lover and father so she decides it's time to leave the city and head home, where her sister, Jessica (Alt), runs a diner. As she's pulling into town, she passes an accident where a woman has died of a heart attack while driving. As time passes, Kate begins to learn that this isn't the first heart attack in the small town. Could her new boss, Dr Lucas (Haydn-Jones), be behind the deaths in some way(?) So she sets out to find out the truth.
Here is the first thing I think could have been better. It would have been a stronger storyline had we not been shown the killer at quite an early stage in the film. Had the writer and director decided to make this into a whodunnit with lots of twists and red herrings this would have been a brilliant movie. It wouldn't have been that difficult to do as the person who's playing the killer is so normal it would have been difficult to guess.
The other thing would be her relationship with her son. There's just too little here. At times, you even forget she's a mother. Who know's there may be some of these scene's laying on the cutting room floor. I just think it would have strengthened her character and added a few heartwarming and tearful scenes. This, in turn, could have branched off a story arch where they, as a family, developed more - especially the climax, which was over a little too fast. With an added threat to her son, the director could have ramped up the tension so the audience was on the edge of their seats.
Those are my only quirks as the film is well directed and acted throughout. There is one scene which is especially great. After killing an elderly resident, the killer sits back while sipping tea. It's the exhale of their deep breath, the look of calm satisfaction, and the shudder of utter bliss, which gave me the shivers right down to the bone.
If you love your thrillers without the mystery element then I'd recommend this film to you. It's an engrossing and entertaining way to waste an hour or two.
The "Good" Doctor.
sol121819 April 2012
Warning: Spoilers
***SPOILERS*** it in fact was old taxi driver Harry Goodman, Frank Fontaine,who had the creepy and deranged Dr.Mark Lucas, David Hayden-Jnoes, number right from the start. Harry knew that Dr. Lucas was up to no good since his wife whom the Doc treated died mysteriously from a sudden and unexpected heart attack. If only the people in Ridegwood would have listened to Harry all this killing on Dr. Lucas' part would have come to an end much sooner with the kill crazy Doc put away,in the state prison, where he couldn't hurt or kill anybody.
It was Kate Ryder,Amy Jo Johnson, who just came back to Ridgewood from the big city with her asthmatic 6 year old son Sam,Nigel Bennett,who came under Dr. Lucas radar when she wen to see him for a job as his Girl Friday or private secretary. Unknown to Kate she was replacing Grace, Nancy Helmes, who was one of Dr.Lucas' victims! In fact it was also Dr.Lucas who was responsible,by giving her the wrong medication,for Kate's mothers suicide whom he felt was,in being old and sickly,no use to society anymore!
The worm finally turned for Dr.Lucas after he got a bit careless in killing far more people, including Larry Goodman, who's death, of a sudden a faked heart attack, he couldn't sweep under he rug. It's now up to Kate to expose the mad killer before she as well as her son Sam and sister Jesse, Carol Alt, who runs the town's Dad Diner end up being his latest victims. The big problem for Kate is who in town will believe her since Dr. Lucas is one of it's most outstanding citizens! Who besides offering his services for cut rate prices also on top of all that even makes house calls!
***SPOILERS*** In finding that Dr. Lucas was in fact doctoring the records of those who died of his "special treatment" which included rattle snake poison Kate tries to get the Doc's latest victim 75 year old Miss.White's, Mary Morter, body exhumed and autopsied to see if she,like the Doc stated in her death certified, in fact died of natural causes! This sends the by now losing it Dr. Lucas into an absolute fury and also exposes to everyone in town including the mostly clueless Sheriff Cooper, Lorne Brass, to what the Doc is really up to: Mass murder of those he feels aren't worthy to be alive in this world! Adding another victim to his body count Deputy Sheriff Bailey,Charles Bender, and gunning down but not killing Kate's boyfriend Tom Donovan,Paul Popowich, Dr.Lucas takes off with Sam as a hostage into the nearby corn field to chill out after the heat's off. With the Doc now completely out of his mind he spills the beans to what his true motives were all along, kill those he feels are unworthy to be alive, to the gun toting Kate who,in her having just all she can take from the crazed maniac, blew him away!
P.S As we soon find out Dr.Lucs' string of murders weren't confined to just the sleepy little town of Ridgewood that he has his practice or killing spree for just two years. He was killing people all across the country for eight years before he even came to town! And how many he killed is anybodies guess!
It was Kate Ryder,Amy Jo Johnson, who just came back to Ridgewood from the big city with her asthmatic 6 year old son Sam,Nigel Bennett,who came under Dr. Lucas radar when she wen to see him for a job as his Girl Friday or private secretary. Unknown to Kate she was replacing Grace, Nancy Helmes, who was one of Dr.Lucas' victims! In fact it was also Dr.Lucas who was responsible,by giving her the wrong medication,for Kate's mothers suicide whom he felt was,in being old and sickly,no use to society anymore!
The worm finally turned for Dr.Lucas after he got a bit careless in killing far more people, including Larry Goodman, who's death, of a sudden a faked heart attack, he couldn't sweep under he rug. It's now up to Kate to expose the mad killer before she as well as her son Sam and sister Jesse, Carol Alt, who runs the town's Dad Diner end up being his latest victims. The big problem for Kate is who in town will believe her since Dr. Lucas is one of it's most outstanding citizens! Who besides offering his services for cut rate prices also on top of all that even makes house calls!
***SPOILERS*** In finding that Dr. Lucas was in fact doctoring the records of those who died of his "special treatment" which included rattle snake poison Kate tries to get the Doc's latest victim 75 year old Miss.White's, Mary Morter, body exhumed and autopsied to see if she,like the Doc stated in her death certified, in fact died of natural causes! This sends the by now losing it Dr. Lucas into an absolute fury and also exposes to everyone in town including the mostly clueless Sheriff Cooper, Lorne Brass, to what the Doc is really up to: Mass murder of those he feels aren't worthy to be alive in this world! Adding another victim to his body count Deputy Sheriff Bailey,Charles Bender, and gunning down but not killing Kate's boyfriend Tom Donovan,Paul Popowich, Dr.Lucas takes off with Sam as a hostage into the nearby corn field to chill out after the heat's off. With the Doc now completely out of his mind he spills the beans to what his true motives were all along, kill those he feels are unworthy to be alive, to the gun toting Kate who,in her having just all she can take from the crazed maniac, blew him away!
P.S As we soon find out Dr.Lucs' string of murders weren't confined to just the sleepy little town of Ridgewood that he has his practice or killing spree for just two years. He was killing people all across the country for eight years before he even came to town! And how many he killed is anybodies guess!
Always Watch Your Back
Terryfan6 October 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Fatal Trust shows how well a story can change without notice and never take your eye away from the screen.
When Kate (Amy Jo Johnson)comes with her son to start a new for her family when her husband was killed.
With the help of her half sister they begin to rebuild their lives and get to be a family again.
When Kate takes a job with Dr.Mark Lucas (David Jones) the loyal Dr she seems to enjoy the job.
However she will discover that Dr.Lucas is not that he seems to be.
This movie story is a strong one that is not found in many movies anymore, it was well thought out and well build together for a movie made for TV.
The Characters were very clever and well put and they were played by great actors.
The Music really plays well and each scene has a score that tells a story with that scene.
You really need to get this movie a try and it does keep you guessing.
Overall Fatal Trust has a strong story with very good cast and really enjoyable that should be worth watching.
I give Fatal Trust a 8 out of 10
When Kate (Amy Jo Johnson)comes with her son to start a new for her family when her husband was killed.
With the help of her half sister they begin to rebuild their lives and get to be a family again.
When Kate takes a job with Dr.Mark Lucas (David Jones) the loyal Dr she seems to enjoy the job.
However she will discover that Dr.Lucas is not that he seems to be.
This movie story is a strong one that is not found in many movies anymore, it was well thought out and well build together for a movie made for TV.
The Characters were very clever and well put and they were played by great actors.
The Music really plays well and each scene has a score that tells a story with that scene.
You really need to get this movie a try and it does keep you guessing.
Overall Fatal Trust has a strong story with very good cast and really enjoyable that should be worth watching.
I give Fatal Trust a 8 out of 10
Doctor Lucas' House Calls
lavatch15 December 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Often truth can be stranger than fiction, as apparent in this harrowing tale of a psyco doctor who finds creative ways to murder his patients. Apparently, the film was based on case studies in both the United States and Great Britain.
Kate Ryder has returned to her roots, arriving back home with a trailer filled with her belongings and her little boy Sammy. She is reunited with her half-sister Jess, who runs the local Dad's Diner. She also rekindles an old flame with Tom Sullivan, a hard-working fireman in the Ridgewood community.
Kate succeeds in landing a job as the administrative assistant to Dr. Mark Lucas, who has taken over his father's practice. When local residents start dropping like flies, dying under suspicious circumstances, Kate suspects the doc of foul play. She goes on a quest to find a paper trail to convince the skeptical Sheriff Cooper to make an arrest.
Despite the unpleasant content, the filmmakers moved the action along at a brisk pace, and there is an interesting set of relationships developed in the small town. Kate's stepsister Jess had a strong attraction to Dr. Lucas, flirting ostentatiously by complaining of "hot flashes" and setting an appointment with the good doctor for a complete physical examination. It had to be bittersweet for Jess to learn the truth about the man of her dreams.
My favorite character was Harry Goodman, the local taxi driver, who first warns Kate that Dr. Lucas is a very bad man. Kate was slow in taking Harry's good counsel, which led to the unfortunate demise of the poor cabbie.
There was a strong character study in the protagonist, as Kate Ryder was still grieving the loss of her husband Craig, who died a violent death in a New York subway station. It turned out, however, that just as great a threat was posed to Kate and the good people of the tiny community of Ridgewood whenever Dr. Lucas paid a house call.
Kate Ryder has returned to her roots, arriving back home with a trailer filled with her belongings and her little boy Sammy. She is reunited with her half-sister Jess, who runs the local Dad's Diner. She also rekindles an old flame with Tom Sullivan, a hard-working fireman in the Ridgewood community.
Kate succeeds in landing a job as the administrative assistant to Dr. Mark Lucas, who has taken over his father's practice. When local residents start dropping like flies, dying under suspicious circumstances, Kate suspects the doc of foul play. She goes on a quest to find a paper trail to convince the skeptical Sheriff Cooper to make an arrest.
Despite the unpleasant content, the filmmakers moved the action along at a brisk pace, and there is an interesting set of relationships developed in the small town. Kate's stepsister Jess had a strong attraction to Dr. Lucas, flirting ostentatiously by complaining of "hot flashes" and setting an appointment with the good doctor for a complete physical examination. It had to be bittersweet for Jess to learn the truth about the man of her dreams.
My favorite character was Harry Goodman, the local taxi driver, who first warns Kate that Dr. Lucas is a very bad man. Kate was slow in taking Harry's good counsel, which led to the unfortunate demise of the poor cabbie.
There was a strong character study in the protagonist, as Kate Ryder was still grieving the loss of her husband Craig, who died a violent death in a New York subway station. It turned out, however, that just as great a threat was posed to Kate and the good people of the tiny community of Ridgewood whenever Dr. Lucas paid a house call.
Dr Harold Shipman
cjbl-661218 December 2019
Good Movie, Good Acting
carolynocean23 March 2021
This is a good movie. I was surprised, because I was expecting an average , ' made for TV ' type drama, but this was better .
A well written , directed , and acted film. , not overly done or contrived. I was convinced by the actors , very genuine performances.
A very interesting story with true underlying factors added to this engaging film. We all put our trust in doctors , sometimes a bit too much . And it is not unusual to hear of these shocking stories frome time to time.
I do recommend this movie.
A well written , directed , and acted film. , not overly done or contrived. I was convinced by the actors , very genuine performances.
A very interesting story with true underlying factors added to this engaging film. We all put our trust in doctors , sometimes a bit too much . And it is not unusual to hear of these shocking stories frome time to time.
I do recommend this movie.
Warning: Going to this Doctor May Be Fatal to Your Health : Fatal Trust **1/2
edwagreen13 February 2012
Warning: Spoilers
After her husband is killed, a woman returns with her young son to her small town birthplace.
She becomes a secretary to the local town doctor, a good looking man who apparently has his own agenda consisting of killing his elderly patients.
It's never explained why the woman never came home for own mother's funeral.
Despite hearing from an elderly man, whose friend died while he was a patient of Dr. Lucas, our heroine doesn't believe this.
In the case of stories dealing with serial killings, the bodies begin to pile up and you don't need to have a Ph.D to figure out what is going on.
Our doctor, who uses poisonous snake venom to kill his patients, blurts out in the end that life is an incurable disease. You wonder what this nut job is talking about.
I wonder what this doctor thought about Medicare.
She becomes a secretary to the local town doctor, a good looking man who apparently has his own agenda consisting of killing his elderly patients.
It's never explained why the woman never came home for own mother's funeral.
Despite hearing from an elderly man, whose friend died while he was a patient of Dr. Lucas, our heroine doesn't believe this.
In the case of stories dealing with serial killings, the bodies begin to pile up and you don't need to have a Ph.D to figure out what is going on.
Our doctor, who uses poisonous snake venom to kill his patients, blurts out in the end that life is an incurable disease. You wonder what this nut job is talking about.
I wonder what this doctor thought about Medicare.
Honestly, this is all around much better than I anticipated.
I_Ailurophile7 December 2022
One of the nice things about Lifetime original movies is how reliable they are - reliably direct, in particular. The plot development zips right along; in no time at all we meet the villain, a romantic element is introduced, we meet the major supporting characters, and character history is provided. The same ethos applies to the scene writing and dialogue, which furthermore are sometimes contrived or ham-handed to brusquely establish specific ideas or inculcate specific feelings. With this said: the network's features tend to fall into one of three categories, being either sincere and well-made, gauche but still worthwhile, or a total B-movie romp. For all the idiosyncrasies that define the construction of this title, by and large it carries itself with the airs of that first category, and achieves it much more than not. It would be wrong to say 'Fatal trust' altogether evokes the desired reactions of its thriller genre, but it's earnestly enjoyable and engaging in its TV movie seriousness, and that's something that not even all its major studio kin can claim.
The surest sign of the slant here is how David Haydn-Jones plays the antagonist completely straight. Whereas Lifetime films commonly allow those playing the killer to overact, chew all the scenery they want, and throw themselves about with wild abandon (see 'My killer client' or 'Wheels of beauty,' two personal favorites of mine), to Haydn-Jones' credit, he portrays the murderer with a searing, cold malice that unquestionably aspires to loftier ends. And the same is true of the rest of the cast - even for any kitsch that presents (primarily in the expository first act), they all do a fine job of bringing the dark tableau to life with all the skill and authenticity they can muster. Amy Jo Johnson demonstrates excellent capability as a leading lady; Carol Alt and Paul Popowich make their supporting characters feel meaningfully real, and more significant than their Second Fiddle status. And so on. It helps that screenwriter Andrew Hilton and director Philippe Gagnon clearly put their best feet forward to make the picture as compelling and worthy as it could be, quite exceeding many of its brethren; the straightforward tack belies softly rich, satisfying characters, and scene and narrative writing. Ultimately the touches of inelegance in the writing and execution feel minor; though overall 'Fatal trust' fits within a formula, there's passion and heart in its craft that feels distinctly different.
One can perhaps readily imagine discrete ways in which the picture could have been altered to further elevate it, and make it more impactful. For example, where the ending is concerned, I'd have more heavily emphasized the zoom out in the closing shot and let it linger a moment longer; if the final lines of text were truly necessary, I'd let the screen fade to black before letting the words appear. Such superficially trivial matters can make a big difference. Yet even if some of the small details in this case are imperfect (for example, the minutiae of how the killer facilitates a car wreck raise a skeptical eyebrow), by and large there's a keen sobriety in how the film is put together. The cast, crew, and writer and director all put in genuinely solid work to assemble the grim tale; even composers Vincent Rehel and Martin Roy contribute an original score that seems uncharacteristically grabbing and piercing. In fairness, I don't think this is so singular that it's apt to change the mind of anyone who doesn't already appreciate what Lifetime TV movies broadly represent - there's no mistaking that it comes from the same mold. In my opinion, however, this is an iteration of the same recipe that strikes all the exact right notes to come out just ever so slightly stronger and more flavorful than others of similar form. Don't go out of your way for it, but this is unexpectedly deserving, and I dare say that those who are on the fence about the network might be pleasantly surprised. Recommended above all for established fans of the style, or of those involved, 'Fatal trust' is a second-tier thriller that shows there's more value to its chosen medium than it often gets credit for. Well done!
The surest sign of the slant here is how David Haydn-Jones plays the antagonist completely straight. Whereas Lifetime films commonly allow those playing the killer to overact, chew all the scenery they want, and throw themselves about with wild abandon (see 'My killer client' or 'Wheels of beauty,' two personal favorites of mine), to Haydn-Jones' credit, he portrays the murderer with a searing, cold malice that unquestionably aspires to loftier ends. And the same is true of the rest of the cast - even for any kitsch that presents (primarily in the expository first act), they all do a fine job of bringing the dark tableau to life with all the skill and authenticity they can muster. Amy Jo Johnson demonstrates excellent capability as a leading lady; Carol Alt and Paul Popowich make their supporting characters feel meaningfully real, and more significant than their Second Fiddle status. And so on. It helps that screenwriter Andrew Hilton and director Philippe Gagnon clearly put their best feet forward to make the picture as compelling and worthy as it could be, quite exceeding many of its brethren; the straightforward tack belies softly rich, satisfying characters, and scene and narrative writing. Ultimately the touches of inelegance in the writing and execution feel minor; though overall 'Fatal trust' fits within a formula, there's passion and heart in its craft that feels distinctly different.
One can perhaps readily imagine discrete ways in which the picture could have been altered to further elevate it, and make it more impactful. For example, where the ending is concerned, I'd have more heavily emphasized the zoom out in the closing shot and let it linger a moment longer; if the final lines of text were truly necessary, I'd let the screen fade to black before letting the words appear. Such superficially trivial matters can make a big difference. Yet even if some of the small details in this case are imperfect (for example, the minutiae of how the killer facilitates a car wreck raise a skeptical eyebrow), by and large there's a keen sobriety in how the film is put together. The cast, crew, and writer and director all put in genuinely solid work to assemble the grim tale; even composers Vincent Rehel and Martin Roy contribute an original score that seems uncharacteristically grabbing and piercing. In fairness, I don't think this is so singular that it's apt to change the mind of anyone who doesn't already appreciate what Lifetime TV movies broadly represent - there's no mistaking that it comes from the same mold. In my opinion, however, this is an iteration of the same recipe that strikes all the exact right notes to come out just ever so slightly stronger and more flavorful than others of similar form. Don't go out of your way for it, but this is unexpectedly deserving, and I dare say that those who are on the fence about the network might be pleasantly surprised. Recommended above all for established fans of the style, or of those involved, 'Fatal trust' is a second-tier thriller that shows there's more value to its chosen medium than it often gets credit for. Well done!
Grieving widow my bleep!
haroot_azarian29 July 2021
It's funny how everyone's talking about a grieving widow, when right from the word go she was all laughs and smiles and bubbly given the horrible way her husband died in front of her eyes and she missed her own mother's funeral. Oh and she didn't mess around in getting all mushy and doe eyed with her former high school boyfriend. Forget about doctor death, concentrate on Kate!
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
