Charlie has given his wife Mary the gift of a little ceramic owl because the owl is the nickname he bestowed on his talkative, librarian wife who always would say "Who." When it turns out that Charle is murdered, a bizarre chain of events leads the tiny community to point the finger as Mary as the culprit.
But it turns out that Charlie may have been sleeping with his wife's friend Susan, who is married to Trevor. In a moment of weakness, Mary kisses Trevor, then regrets her actions. But Trevor becomes obsessive over Mary, and begins to stalk Mary. Susan is an attorney, who offers to represent Mary. But is Susan to be trusted?
Another strange character is Mary's sister-in-law Crystal, who believes that Mary killed her beloved brother. The police are beyond the level of incompetent, even by the standards of a Lifetime film. Mary must do her own sleuth work, beginning to understand why Charlie had scratches on his back shortly before his death. Whoever made those scratches may offer a clue to who was his killer.
Yet another bizarre character is this film is Cassandra, an employee at the Screws and Bolts hardware store, whom Mary suspects of being the mysterious "back scratcher" of her husband. But Cassandra would appear to have a happy marriage and drops out of the film at midpoint. The one character who believes in Mary's innocence is her kind mother-in-law. The two characters begin to bond at the gravesite of their beloved Charlie.
A reference point in the film is Kate Chopin's 1899 novel "The Awakening," which presents ideas that prefigure American feminism. But the film does not provide a thoughtful context for any awakening of the protagonist Mary, other than it is a good idea not to trust anyone in her town!
The main action of the film boils down to the question "What Happened at the Beach House?" where Charlie was stabbed in the back. The principal problem with the film was the unsavory characters. Almost anyone except for Mary and her kind mother-in-law could have been a suspect, including the police detective! In the American judicial system, an accused is innocent until proven guilty. But that legal precedent was not invoked for the friendly little librarian Mary in "A Deadey Affair."
But it turns out that Charlie may have been sleeping with his wife's friend Susan, who is married to Trevor. In a moment of weakness, Mary kisses Trevor, then regrets her actions. But Trevor becomes obsessive over Mary, and begins to stalk Mary. Susan is an attorney, who offers to represent Mary. But is Susan to be trusted?
Another strange character is Mary's sister-in-law Crystal, who believes that Mary killed her beloved brother. The police are beyond the level of incompetent, even by the standards of a Lifetime film. Mary must do her own sleuth work, beginning to understand why Charlie had scratches on his back shortly before his death. Whoever made those scratches may offer a clue to who was his killer.
Yet another bizarre character is this film is Cassandra, an employee at the Screws and Bolts hardware store, whom Mary suspects of being the mysterious "back scratcher" of her husband. But Cassandra would appear to have a happy marriage and drops out of the film at midpoint. The one character who believes in Mary's innocence is her kind mother-in-law. The two characters begin to bond at the gravesite of their beloved Charlie.
A reference point in the film is Kate Chopin's 1899 novel "The Awakening," which presents ideas that prefigure American feminism. But the film does not provide a thoughtful context for any awakening of the protagonist Mary, other than it is a good idea not to trust anyone in her town!
The main action of the film boils down to the question "What Happened at the Beach House?" where Charlie was stabbed in the back. The principal problem with the film was the unsavory characters. Almost anyone except for Mary and her kind mother-in-law could have been a suspect, including the police detective! In the American judicial system, an accused is innocent until proven guilty. But that legal precedent was not invoked for the friendly little librarian Mary in "A Deadey Affair."
