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Lifetime Review: 'Was I Really Kidnapped?'

An abducted woman finds herself disbelieved in this Lifetime thriller marred by an uneven lead and dry plotting.

By Trevor WellsPublished 4 years ago 5 min read
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After three days of captivity in which she is drugged and tormented by her masked abductor, Elle Whitland (Michelle Mylett) is released outside a gas station and brought to the hospital. After being reunited with her boyfriend Billy (Jacob Blair) and her sister Jen (Anna Hardwick), the trio is brought to the police station for questioning regarding what happened to Elle and who might have taken her.

But in addition to spotting inconsistencies in the events that led up to Elle's disappearance, Detectives Flores and Wells (Scott Gibson and Allison Graham) find themselves questioning the validity of Elle's abduction when they learn about her traumatic past and history of mental health issues. Frustrated at the police's disbelief in her, Elle works to uncover the identity of her kidnapper herself—unaware that the culprit could be closer than she realizes.

As my earlier reviews from the period in which I was trying to establish myself as a movie blogger show, I have something of a love-hate relationship with MarVista Entertainment. It would appear they have just as many adequate or even great films under their belt as they do films that are mediocre or outright awful. In the case of Was I Really Kidnapped? (originally titled The Alleged Abduction by MarVista), it lands somewhere in the middle. While the film isn't irredeemably terrible, it also lacks the spark to make it a truly enjoyable Lifetime thriller.

Much of this lack of spark can be blamed on the film's pacing issues, with the first half focusing around the police's investigation into what happened to Elle and piecing together the events leading up to her disappearance. For a while, it appeared Was I Really Kidnapped? would be taking a Shattered Memories route to building its mystery, slowly unveiling the events leading to Elle's kidnapping and allowing the viewer to wonder just whose word is trustworthy. For the most part, however, this dynamic is barely utilized, with the differences in the recounted events being minuscule and only being used to create doubt in one character. That and the relatively small amount of suspects leave the mystery of who is responsible for what happened to Elle fairly predictable, and most keen-eyed viewers are sure to pinpoint the culprit well in advance.

(Additional notes: The film never makes the idea that Elle's abduction is an elaborate hallucination a legitimate possibility to consider, despite the film's title suggesting this would be a major plot point. Instead, it comes off that the concept is simply used to render the police useless and justify Elle investigating her kidnapping herself. Also, even allowing for suspension of disbelief, the culprit setting Elle free makes little sense once their motivation is revealed)

When it comes to characterization and casting, Was I Really Kidnapped? fares a bit better, even if they too come with pitfalls. The handful of characters makes for a slight mystery as to who the culprit is, with the ambiguous performances of many of the cast members making up for the solution's quick turn for the obvious. Jacob Blair and Anna Hardwick do well in this regard, doing what they can to inject a sense of ambiguity to Billy and Jen while also bringing charm and likability to their admittedly flat characters. WARNING: SPOILER ALERT The same can also be said about Kyle Buchanan as Billy's co-worker and Elle's revealed kidnapper Ryan, who tries his best to inject some malice whenever he's not restricted by his dime-a-dozen "Obsessed Entitled Nice Guy" character with the routine dialogue that comes with it. SPOILERS OVER Richard Nash is a surprise stand-out of the cast, throwing himself into his role as Elle's morally questionable therapist Dr. Kilmeade.

When it comes to leading lady Michelle Mylett, however, her performance is a mixed bag. Mylett has some effective moments of bringing to life the fear Elle's abduction has left her with, as well as the frustration she feels when the police accuse her of being delusional (scenes of a tearful Elle during her captivity and crying following a harrowing nightmare are Mylett at her best). But for a good chunk of the film, Mylett's performance feels wooden and lacking the emotional vulnerability Elle should be feeling in the wake of such a traumatic experience. When Elle talks to the detectives about what happened to her and becomes frustrated with their disbelief in her claims, Mylett's performance often betrays the emotions we should be seeing from her. This not only serves to harm Elle's character, but also makes Elle's cliched moment of plot-induced stupidity in the film's climax especially irritating since we have limited opportunity to sympathize with Elle's struggle to find justice.

(It's also a bit disheartening to see Scott Gibson and Allison Graham—both of whom have previously proven themselves strong actors on Lifetime—are saddled with the most basic "Useless Cop" trope roles)

Mylett, as I said, is at her strongest when she allows for Elle's emotionally vulnerable side to show; a side which is showcased particularly well during the film's solid climax that ends on a high note. Mylett is also charming enough in flashbacks of Elle prior to her kidnapping, preventing Elle from becoming a character the audience is completely unable to connect to. But for all the cast's best efforts, Was I Really Kidnapped? remains a tough film to recommend, as the moderately stale mystery, poor pacing, and uneven acting from its main protagonist combine to make for a taxing watch on the attention span.

If you have laundry or other chores to do and want some Lifetimey background entertainment, Was I Really Kidnapped? would make the ideal choice. Otherwise, it's the sort of film you may watch once out of curiosity and then never look at again.

Score: 5 out of 10 breakfast croissants.

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About the Creator

Trevor Wells

Aspiring writer and film lover: Lifetime, Hallmark, indie, and anything else that strikes my interest. He/him.

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Twitter: @TrevorWells98

Instagram: @trevorwells_16

Email: [email protected]

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