Sometimes TV movies seem to do a first-rate job of dealing with social problems. "And the Band Played On" comes to mind, along with others. But this isn't a very good example. AIDS is undeniably there, as is child abuse, while internet predators are problematic.
The movie is not badly done. Potts has a winsome hapless face, with over-sized semi-frightened eyes, like a deer caught in the headlights. She's by no means Hollywood gorgeous. I enjoyed her performance. It's the only one that stands out. I'm not sure I believed the script in its entirety. Some of the incidents read too much like submissions to Screenplays 101.
Ms. Posey is wandering through a fairground and putting herself in danger for the sake of justice, wired for sound, with cops listening all over the place as she is drawn into the shadows by an internet predator. A pedestrian bumps into her and jars the microphone loose so it falls to the ground. She then walks out of the fairground not realizing she's trailing a loose wire and is talking to herself. Maybe it happened. Maybe it ALL happened or maybe just some of it happened. It's not a badly done TV movie but it's irritating because the movie seems so determined to whip us into a rage and justify it by such cheap means.
One of the problems with using internet predators as villains in the movies -- and there have been several like this -- is that there is so little scientific evidence that they exist. No amount of evidence, or the lack of it, is likely to change the minds of people who are convinced that they are a major social problem. Too bad. The paucity of internet predators ought to ease our anxiety, but somehow we can't seem to do without them.
The movie is not badly done. Potts has a winsome hapless face, with over-sized semi-frightened eyes, like a deer caught in the headlights. She's by no means Hollywood gorgeous. I enjoyed her performance. It's the only one that stands out. I'm not sure I believed the script in its entirety. Some of the incidents read too much like submissions to Screenplays 101.
Ms. Posey is wandering through a fairground and putting herself in danger for the sake of justice, wired for sound, with cops listening all over the place as she is drawn into the shadows by an internet predator. A pedestrian bumps into her and jars the microphone loose so it falls to the ground. She then walks out of the fairground not realizing she's trailing a loose wire and is talking to herself. Maybe it happened. Maybe it ALL happened or maybe just some of it happened. It's not a badly done TV movie but it's irritating because the movie seems so determined to whip us into a rage and justify it by such cheap means.
One of the problems with using internet predators as villains in the movies -- and there have been several like this -- is that there is so little scientific evidence that they exist. No amount of evidence, or the lack of it, is likely to change the minds of people who are convinced that they are a major social problem. Too bad. The paucity of internet predators ought to ease our anxiety, but somehow we can't seem to do without them.