Yes, apparently this is based on real people, but unless you're from the area where this took place and were there at the time, it's unlikely you wouldn't know anything about the incident or really care less. So to see the characters of Michael O'Keefe and Charles Durning in cahoots committing murder as part of insurance fraud, I only saw what came from the actor's lips, what they read from the scripts and memorized and were directed to do. Whatever really happened can only be assumed because I knew nothing about the case, didn't research the names of the victim, accused or investigators. What I did know is the talents of the actors, which in addition to O'Keefe and Durning included Patrick Duffy (possibly during his year long break from "Dallas") as the detective certain that this was a cleverly conceived murder.
Whether playing a villain or a beloved grandfatherly mentor, Charles Durning was always delightful to watch on screen (and absolutely commanding on stage, having seen him in "The Gin Game"), and his performance as the charming phony preacher who is quite the devil is mesmerizing. O'Keefe is equally as much of a sociopath, and it doesn't concern me what happened to him later on. I wasn't interested in so-called atonenement, just the general presumed facts of the case. The crime, whether fact or fiction, is a sinister one, and watching O'Keefe basically barely respond to the staged hit and run is uncomfortably fascinating, like watching the actions of the lead character from "American Psycho". What matters when watching a film like this is if it is keeping interest, and it did. I wouldn't watch films on the more publicized scandals or crimes that media has overplayed so seeing this from a mental view of not knowing anything made me give this a higher rating rather than feel like I was seeing a National Inquirer serial fleshed out to 90 minutes after seeing headlines every time I grocery shopped.
Whether playing a villain or a beloved grandfatherly mentor, Charles Durning was always delightful to watch on screen (and absolutely commanding on stage, having seen him in "The Gin Game"), and his performance as the charming phony preacher who is quite the devil is mesmerizing. O'Keefe is equally as much of a sociopath, and it doesn't concern me what happened to him later on. I wasn't interested in so-called atonenement, just the general presumed facts of the case. The crime, whether fact or fiction, is a sinister one, and watching O'Keefe basically barely respond to the staged hit and run is uncomfortably fascinating, like watching the actions of the lead character from "American Psycho". What matters when watching a film like this is if it is keeping interest, and it did. I wouldn't watch films on the more publicized scandals or crimes that media has overplayed so seeing this from a mental view of not knowing anything made me give this a higher rating rather than feel like I was seeing a National Inquirer serial fleshed out to 90 minutes after seeing headlines every time I grocery shopped.