A mysterious client hires private eye Don Strachey to tail a woman who turns out to be a detective running an uncover investigation. Two aging lesbians, one a high school counselor, are harassed and their home vandalized in the small town where they live. A giant real estate deal is nearing a deadline. If that wasn't enough, an old lover of Timmy Callahan's shows up. Timmy is Don's life partner. We'll soon learn that Timmy's friend knows the two women.
And before long, murder appears carrying an accelerant for arson. As Strachey digs into these seemingly unrelated cases, he gradually realizes there are links. Some of the links depend on big money deals. Some depend on long-buried secrets that have been buried far too long. Some lead to beatings and death.
Chad Allen plays Strachey in this third, and in my opinion the best, of the Don Strachey television movies. They're based on the Richard Stevenson mysteries. For those who like to read as well as watch, Stevenson has written nine of them. Death Vows, his latest, came out in 2008. He's a fine writer who comes up with complicated stories that involve deadly motives. Allen is a little shorter than how I envisage the written Strachey, and a little more ironic. He's a good actor, however, and makes believable Strachey's intelligence, decency and, when needed, willingness to do some violence. Sebastian Spence plays Timmy Callahan, Strachey's, for want of a better term, co-husband. They've been together for a while and are committed to a monogamous relationship, although sometimes tempted. Timmy works for a top legislator in Albany. He's smart, doesn't like it when Strachey gets involved with danger, and mixes a soothing martini for them both after a tough day's work.
The centerpiece of this story is the two aging women who have been together for years. Their house is being vandalized with graffiti and thrown bricks. The driving force of the story, thankfully, isn't just a screed about some townspeople's intolerance. No, this involves plain old greed, corruption and enough complications to make a satisfying story. Margot Kidder plays Dorothy Fisher, a no-nonsense woman who talks straight and is quite prepared to take a baseball bat to anyone who tries to hurt her or her partner, Edith Strong. Dorothy is an indomitable woman who can be a pain in the rear. It's a showy part and Kidder makes the most of it. Gabrielle Rose, however, as Strong, brings not only subtle emotion to the plot, but some extraordinarily fine acting. Ten years ago she played Delores Driscoll, the anguished bus driver in that achingly sad movie, The Sweet Hereafter. The most hidden secrets involve Dorothy and Edith.
With that out of the way, what about the feared gay agenda we keep hearing about? Well, sure there is one here, for those who want to call it that. Don Strachey and his committed partner, Timmy Callahan, are portrayed as two men, comfortable in their skins, who love each other and who have an easy-going, affectionate relationship. We'll see examples of deeply committed love between two older women; we'll see the problems of teens who know they're gay and have no one to talk to about it, including their parents; and we'll see a positive case made for love, affection, humor and help regardless of the gender. If the alternative to the feared gay agenda is a hetero agenda as exemplified by Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee...well, give me Cary Grant, Grace Kelly and Randolph Scott in any combination they want. I'll approve.
And before long, murder appears carrying an accelerant for arson. As Strachey digs into these seemingly unrelated cases, he gradually realizes there are links. Some of the links depend on big money deals. Some depend on long-buried secrets that have been buried far too long. Some lead to beatings and death.
Chad Allen plays Strachey in this third, and in my opinion the best, of the Don Strachey television movies. They're based on the Richard Stevenson mysteries. For those who like to read as well as watch, Stevenson has written nine of them. Death Vows, his latest, came out in 2008. He's a fine writer who comes up with complicated stories that involve deadly motives. Allen is a little shorter than how I envisage the written Strachey, and a little more ironic. He's a good actor, however, and makes believable Strachey's intelligence, decency and, when needed, willingness to do some violence. Sebastian Spence plays Timmy Callahan, Strachey's, for want of a better term, co-husband. They've been together for a while and are committed to a monogamous relationship, although sometimes tempted. Timmy works for a top legislator in Albany. He's smart, doesn't like it when Strachey gets involved with danger, and mixes a soothing martini for them both after a tough day's work.
The centerpiece of this story is the two aging women who have been together for years. Their house is being vandalized with graffiti and thrown bricks. The driving force of the story, thankfully, isn't just a screed about some townspeople's intolerance. No, this involves plain old greed, corruption and enough complications to make a satisfying story. Margot Kidder plays Dorothy Fisher, a no-nonsense woman who talks straight and is quite prepared to take a baseball bat to anyone who tries to hurt her or her partner, Edith Strong. Dorothy is an indomitable woman who can be a pain in the rear. It's a showy part and Kidder makes the most of it. Gabrielle Rose, however, as Strong, brings not only subtle emotion to the plot, but some extraordinarily fine acting. Ten years ago she played Delores Driscoll, the anguished bus driver in that achingly sad movie, The Sweet Hereafter. The most hidden secrets involve Dorothy and Edith.
With that out of the way, what about the feared gay agenda we keep hearing about? Well, sure there is one here, for those who want to call it that. Don Strachey and his committed partner, Timmy Callahan, are portrayed as two men, comfortable in their skins, who love each other and who have an easy-going, affectionate relationship. We'll see examples of deeply committed love between two older women; we'll see the problems of teens who know they're gay and have no one to talk to about it, including their parents; and we'll see a positive case made for love, affection, humor and help regardless of the gender. If the alternative to the feared gay agenda is a hetero agenda as exemplified by Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee...well, give me Cary Grant, Grace Kelly and Randolph Scott in any combination they want. I'll approve.