"A Mother's Escape" (a.k.a., "Great Plains") is the story of a mother's love for her child. Murel is the mom who leaves her abusive husband, only to be arrested on charges of kidnapping because she was attempting to keep her little boy Kipp ("Kipper") away from a father who was a monster.
The film features two exceptional performances by the women playing Murel and her Aunt Tess, who aids and abets Murel in her escape with little Kipper. Another intriguing character was the sheriff, Randall, who felt sympathy for Murel, but was hamstrung by the aggressive attorney representing Tommy, the husband who was an alcoholic, a liar, and a wife batterer.
The best line in the film is spoken by Sheriff Randall, when his partner, a female cop trained in New York, researches Tommy's past and claims that he is a "church man." Randall's response is priceless: "I've known plenty of church men with lots of secrets."
The screenplay was sloppy at the end, where it was never made clear what happened to Tommy. If he survived, he almost certainly would have his attorney prosecute Murel for shooting him and carrying off Kipper. Did the sheriff make the decision to play judge, jury, and executioner? We only see him holding the pistol at the end. Whatever his decision was, he and two very strong women, Murel and Aunt Tess, were clearly doing it for the Kipper!
The film features two exceptional performances by the women playing Murel and her Aunt Tess, who aids and abets Murel in her escape with little Kipper. Another intriguing character was the sheriff, Randall, who felt sympathy for Murel, but was hamstrung by the aggressive attorney representing Tommy, the husband who was an alcoholic, a liar, and a wife batterer.
The best line in the film is spoken by Sheriff Randall, when his partner, a female cop trained in New York, researches Tommy's past and claims that he is a "church man." Randall's response is priceless: "I've known plenty of church men with lots of secrets."
The screenplay was sloppy at the end, where it was never made clear what happened to Tommy. If he survived, he almost certainly would have his attorney prosecute Murel for shooting him and carrying off Kipper. Did the sheriff make the decision to play judge, jury, and executioner? We only see him holding the pistol at the end. Whatever his decision was, he and two very strong women, Murel and Aunt Tess, were clearly doing it for the Kipper!
