High school sweethearts are never how you remember them. When you stumble upon your sophomore year ex, he/she isn't quite the same person you knew as a teenager. Imagine emerging from prison still in love with your teen angel. And imagine the pain when she doesn't return those feelings.
Lifetime Movie Network's premiere of "Broken Promise" (aka "Statute of Limitations," "Nightmare from the Past") explores this premise, but throws some gas on the emotional fires. When teens Mina and Reese sneak into an estate and share a tender moment, the property's owner shows up. After a confrontation, the old guy is killed and the cops arrive. Reese tells Mina to scram, and he'll take the blame for everything. He winds up in prison -- still in love with Mina. Years pass and Mina (Ashley Scott) has moved on. She's married to super sheriff Ben (Nick Baillie) and has a gorgeous daughter Hali (Lorynn York). When Reese (Louis Mandylor) emerges from the joint, he's expecting to pick up the pieces with Mina. Unfortunately, that's not going to happen.
Reese then proceeds to stalk Mina and play mind games with her family. He antagonizes Ben and endears himself to Hali. And he drives around in the coolest yellow El Camino I've ever seen! He's kind of like Max Cady in "Cape Fear" using his charm to fool the right people ... except for Mina's BFF and wine drinking pal Amber (Kinga Phillips). All the while, Mina wrestles with the fact that she's responsible for the murder that sent Reese to jail.
Tensions simmer and ultimately boil into an crazy climax. No spoilers here though! "Broken Promise" will no doubt air again soon, so check it out. Mandylor is convincing as the Reese, a once sweet guy who has been transformed into a deranged, delusional thug. Scott also earns high marks as a woman trying to bury her past and protect her future. Good work from the rest of the cast too. York is perfect as the confused teen, who is willing to give Reese the benefit of the doubt. Baillie also delivers a solid performance as the protective patriarch who is taunted by his wife's former flame. Phillips rounds things out nicely as the Mina's sympathetic buddy.
Definitely watch this before your next class reunion ... although I doubt (hope) you're not in Mina's predicament.
"Broken Promise": Directed by Nadeem Soumah; Starring Ashley Scott as Mina, Louis Mandylor as Reese, Nick Baillie as Ben, Lorynn York as Hali; Kinga Phillips as Amber
No comments:
Post a Comment