Family Sins (2005)
Based on the true story of the Burt family who seemed normal, upstanding members of the community but were actually deeply embedded in crime. The matriarch took in foster children who were subsequently molested and abused by her husband and children and she kept a woman enslaved and imprisoned in the basement for over twenty years until the woman's daughter managed to get to Rhode Island Attorney General David Morwitz and expose the horrors taking place in the Burt household.
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Reviews
As Good As It Gets
I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.
After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.
Blistering performances.
I liked this comment as it appreciated the fact it was well acted and true to life. To many people this would have seemed a far fetched tale but I experienced a horrific tale of this nature, adult mental brutality and conned by my own son with the advice and backing of a "Mrs Geck". My daughter and I watched it at the same time, I phone her and said have a look and tell me what you think, she immediately said "Bitch Anne" and it was so true to her character that when I do actually finish the script which is proving very painful to write, I want Kirsty to play her. My case raised much publicity 3 days at court and all the media, TV, News etc., Kathryn Knight did an excellent feature in the Daily Mail, but originally my own doctor did not believe me....... Kirsty is the person,,,,well acted. Well produced
I thought Kirstie Alley was awesome in this role. When foster daughter Marie runs away from the Geck family home in search of assistance, she finds no sympathetic ear. The Geck's are philanthropic pillars of their community, and on friendly terms with politicians and other high profile residents. In the beginning, you only catch glimpses of the Gecks true colors, so it is easy to see how they could charm such a great deal of people, even though they give the viewer an uneasy feeling. As the story unfolds, Brenda Geck (head of the house of horrors) slowly reveals herself. I'm wondering if they chose to do this movie now, because the Burts (who the movie was loosely based on) are up for parole? If you like "movies of the week," this is a great one for Chinese food and a night at home. Not once was I bored watching this, and Kirstie's powerful performance washes away any weak characters.
Honestly, this movie was extraordinary. Kirstie Alley really proved herself once again as a great actress. I was blown away at this made for TV movie. Usually this genre is week on script, but I could not turn it off. If you can get a copy of this film, watch it and you will be amazed at the story and Kirstie's performance.Kirstie who is much curvier now, is brilliant in this dramatization of a true story. It is a horrific tale and was very well done.Normally I do not care to write comments on films, but I was so moved to do so on this one. The film and Kirstie should receive an Emmy and SAG Award for this work.
While the acting isn't superb in this made-for-television movie, the events occurring in it are excellent. This true story involves a prominent woman in the community, played by Kirstie Alley, that betrays single, struggling mothers. She manipulates one woman and has her and her daughter live in her rental property and she turns around and burns the house down, getting the woman to move into her own home. She locks the woman in the basement and raises her daughter as her own, teaching her to lie to social workers and steal from department stores. When the girl grows up, and has the baby of Kirstie Alley's son, she then goes to the police to help free her mother. But the story doesn't end here. Even in jail, Kirstie Alley wreaks havoc upon the lives of this mother, daughter, and grandson, both mentally and physically. Excellent movie, a must-see true life story.