Married minister Tom Bird, the father of 3 children becomes attracted to and has an affair with Lorna Anderson, the local Jezebel, herself married and the mother of 4 (including a set of twins) girls. At first, Tom hires her to be his secretary, knowing her husband is a drunk and abusive. But then, one thing leads to another and Tom and Lorna begin a torrid affair. Meanwhile, Sandy Bird, Tom's wife, is a workaholic, seeming to care more for her career than her family and Martin, Lorna's husband, is an abusive alcoholic. To solve their problems, Tom and Lorna figure they could kill their spouses and be together with their 7 children. The crimes would have been perfect had it not been for the absolute determination of traffic officer John Rule, who suspects Mrs. Bird's automobile accident was anything but. Bird was convicted of conspiring to kill Lorna's husband and eventually was found guilty of murdering his wife. He beat her almost to unconsciousness, pushed her over the bridge until she dropped into the water and then put her body into the car and rolled the car off the bridge. What a vicious way to murder the mother of his children!
This is an excellent movie and one I've seen many, many times. JoBeth Williams as Lorna and Terry Kinney as Pastor Tom Bird are particularly well-acted. Ms. Williams' performance reveals the immature, promiscuous needy woman behind Lorna and Mr. Kinney's performance shows the hypocricy and pride hidden just beneath the veneer of the good pastor. It also shows the transformation from a wholesome, excellent minister to a greedy, prideful conniving man.
The only drawback is that, since it was made in 1987, the same year Lorna was eligible for parole, we have no idea of what has happened to the cast of characters. Tom is in jail and their children are living with their uncle but what about Lorna? Is she still married to the choir singer she met? Are John and Lorraine Rule still together? How are the Bird children doing today - 20 years after their mother's murder? Perhaps this movie isn't the place to find the answers to those questions but I still am curious about this.
This is an excellent movie and one I've seen many, many times. JoBeth Williams as Lorna and Terry Kinney as Pastor Tom Bird are particularly well-acted. Ms. Williams' performance reveals the immature, promiscuous needy woman behind Lorna and Mr. Kinney's performance shows the hypocricy and pride hidden just beneath the veneer of the good pastor. It also shows the transformation from a wholesome, excellent minister to a greedy, prideful conniving man.
The only drawback is that, since it was made in 1987, the same year Lorna was eligible for parole, we have no idea of what has happened to the cast of characters. Tom is in jail and their children are living with their uncle but what about Lorna? Is she still married to the choir singer she met? Are John and Lorraine Rule still together? How are the Bird children doing today - 20 years after their mother's murder? Perhaps this movie isn't the place to find the answers to those questions but I still am curious about this.