Reviving Ophelia (film)
| Reviving Ophelia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Bobby Roth |
| Produced by | Steve Solomos |
| Written by |
Mary Pipher (book) Teena Booth (teleplay) |
| Starring |
Jane Kaczmarek Rebecca Williams Nick Thurston Carleigh Beverly Kim Dickens |
| Music by |
Christopher Franke Edgar Rothermich |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
| Original channel | Lifetime |
| Release date |
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Reviving Ophelia is a Lifetime Original Movie starring Jane Kaczmarek and Kim Dickens.[1] The title is a reference to the non-fiction book Reviving Ophelia.
Plot
When LeAnne Dunley arrives home from work and catches her daughter Kelli in a sexual act with a classmate, she arranges for Kelli to stay at her sister Marie's home when she is working. Kelli notices that her cousin Elizabeth Jones--Marie's daughter--is in an unhealthy relationship with her boyfriend, Mark. He calls and texts her at an extremely frequent rate, tries to control where she goes and what she wears, and becomes angry when she tries to spend any time with her friends.
While Elizabeth and Kelli are at a friend's house watching a movie, Mark calls Elizabeth, wanting her to come outside and see him; it is revealed that that he has tracked her down via her cell phone GPS, and has been waiting outside for her the whole time. Mark tries to see who Elizabeth has been in touch with via her cell phone, then attempts to make Elizabeth leave with him. Kelli, who has been watching, runs outside and Mark backs off.
Kelli tells Elizabeth about Mark's ex-girlfriend, Ashley Johnson. Kelli says that Ashley became "a total psycho" after dating Mark, and Elizabeth should try to find out why. When Elizabeth asks Mark about it, he becomes angry, accuses Kelli and Elizabeth of talking trash about him, and leaves out the window. After dinner, as Kelli returns from a walk, she sees Mark leaving through Elizabeth's window. Marie confronts Kelli about "sneaking out" of the house. Kelli tells Marie about Mark's exit and, after being called a liar by Elizabeth, Kelli runs out of the house.
While LeAnne and Marie are discussing Kelli's whereabouts, Marie receives a call that Elizabeth is at the hospital. Marie is unaware that Elizabeth has even left the house. Mark meets them at the hospital. He tells them that he had swerved to avoid a dog and Elizabeth had struck her face on the dashboard of his car. When her parents leave, Mark apologizes to Elizabeth for losing his temper and hitting her. Elizabeth and Mark are told they cannot see, call, or text each other for two weeks, but Elizabeth secretly defies her parents' orders.
Mark becomes jealous of Elizabeth's interactions with a male classmate and again punches her. Kelli sees her bloodied face and walks her to the nurse's office. The principal tells Marie that Mark hit her while Elizabeth denies it, insisting that she fell. Marie and her husband Walter argue about what options are available to protect their daughter and how to handle the situation. Elizabeth starts to see a psychiatrist and continues to deny any abuse while claiming Mark loves her.
Elizabeth pretends to break up with Mark but continues to see him. She will not be truthful about her injuries, and is afraid that any police involvement will ruin Mark's life. Marie is incredulous that Elizabeth's concern is not for herself but for Mark. Marie contacts the psychiatrist who warns Marie that ending an abusive relationship is dangerous and just because someone says a relationship is over, that does not mean that it is actually over. Later on, while browsing the internet, Elizabeth receives a notification that a photo of her has been tagged on Facebook. The photo is of her with blood running down her face while saying "Wherefore art thou, Romeo?" Somebody has taken a picture of her, edited it, and posted it on Facebook as a joke. Elizabeth is shocked after seeing this.
At another session with the psychiatrist, Elizabeth reads a list of signs of abuse on the psychiatrist's computer and recognizes Mark's behavior in all of them. That night, Mark calls and demands to know why she isn't answering her phone or text messages. She finds him waiting for her in her room and tells Mark that their relationship is over. He refuses to accept it, threatening to kill himself and wrapping his arms tightly around her. He says he won't let go until she takes him back. She yells for her parents and he bolts out the window as her parents come in. Mark immediately sends her a text message telling her she is a liar and doesn't deserve to live.
Elizabeth and her parents obtain a restraining order against Mark, who must now remain 50 feet away from her at all times. When Kelli and Elizabeth go to see Cody--another student at the school--and his band play at a coffee shop, Mark shows up and pulls out a gun, saying that he cannot live without Elizabeth and is going to kill her and then himself. After Elizabeth talks Mark into dropping the gun, the police show up and arrest him.
Elizabeth is later found by her mother in the kitchen, baking cookies for Kelli.
Cast
- Jane Kaczmarek as Marie Jones
- Rebecca Williams as Elizabeth Jones
- Nick Thurston as Mark Stenwyck
- Carleigh Beverly as Kelli Dunley
- Peter Outerbridge as Walter Jones
- Kim Dickens as Le Ann Dunley
- Joe Dinicol as Cody
- Alyssa Schafer as nurse
References
- ↑ "Reviving Ophelia Movie - Official Site". myLifetime.com. Retrieved 2012-08-20.