The Stranger Beside Me (1995) (TV)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Sandor Stern

Writer (WGA):

Bruce Miller (written by)

Release Date:

17 September 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

It's what you don't know that can kill you.

Plot:

There's a rapist plaguing a neighborhood. Now a young newlywed suspects that her new husband may be the one doing this.

Cast

Tiffani Thiessen	...	Jennifer Gallagher (as Tiffani-Amber Thiessen)
Eric Close	...	Chris Gallagher
Lorrie Morgan	...	Nancy Halloran
Steven Eckholdt	...	Det. Bill Rounder
Casey Sander	...	Off. Kurtz
Alyson Hannigan	...	Dana
Gary Grubbs
Patrick Labyorteaux	...	Police Officer Lane
Robert Crow
Kathryn Joosten
Gerald McRaney	...	Dave Morgan
Suzanne Ventulett	...	Kim
Darrin Long	...	Danco
James Quattrochi	...	Nick (as James Quarter)
Suzanne Turner	...	Gina

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

San Diego, California, USA

Company:

Longbow Productions

A surprisingly intelligent and well-acted TV movie

When I saw the preview for this movie, I figured to myself, "here's another dumb TV movie that's written with the thought and complexity of a soap opera," but when I saw it I was surprised. Tiffany-Amber Thiessen stars (and proves that she can indeed act if given the chance) as a woman who falls in love with and marries a man (Now and Again's Eric Close) but begins to lose trust in him when a series of rapes begin to take place in her community. At first, she is blinded by his assurances that he is innocent and her love for him, but as time passes she continues to be suspicious of him.

While this sounds like the set-up for another boring melodramatic TV-movie, it is really much better than that, because the characters are well-acted by Thiessen and Close, and the movie's script allows them to be much more complicated and intelligent than you'd expect; these aren't just caricatures or cardboard characters that exist only to move the plot along but real, three-dimensional people, and we find ourselves really caring about them. And the movie is smart enough that it is able to provide an exciting, involving climax to the story without resorting to dumb action scenes, mindless cliches or cheap melodrama. Instead we share in the main character's inner conflicts and fears, and are given a realistic portrayal of how she might be able to resolve them and do the right thing.

If you get a chance to give this one a look, please do so. It's production values are not exactly top-notch (it is a TV movie, after all), but if you can look past that, there is an excellent story to enjoy.