Lifetime Review: 'Big Lies in a Small Town'

Synopsis:

When Rachel Baker (Rhonda Dent) and her daughter Hannah (Kristina Paras) began their trip to the college where Hannah would be starting her freshman year, it was a fun mother-daughter expedition. But things take a turn when the Bakers end up in a car crash, with Rachel waking up two days later in a small town medical center. To Rachel's horror, Hannah wasn't found in the car with her, and with the local police dragging their feet, Rachel takes the investigation into her own hands. But as Rachel gets closer to the truth, she begins receiving anonymous threats and the people around her start turning up dead. Rachel will have to stay on her toes if she wants to find Hannah and escape this town with her life...

Story:

Small towns may be well-known for how nothing ever happens in them, but Big Lies in a Small Town goes too far in recreating that feeling. A good chunk of this movie is spent on Rachel meandering around town, aimlessly looking for clues to Hannah's whereabouts. While there are snippets of action here and there, they're few and far between and don't make up for how about 90% of the film is narratively stagnant. As for the mystery behind Hannah's disappearance, while the "who" is easy enough to pick up on, the "why" (so long as you don't read the spoiler-laced synopsis on Lifetime's website) isn't obvious right off the bat. With Rachel's sleuthing turning up no concrete motivations for why someone would abduct her daughter, it's not until the villain's exposition dump that it all becomes clear. And soon after that, the admittedly action-packed and well-choreographed climax is cut short by an abrupt conclusion.

A lot of this could've been resolved if the story had gone a different route structurally. Instead of focusing all its attention on Rachel, the script could've split its focus: half on Rachel's search for Hannah and half on Hannah's time with her kidnapper and her efforts to escape. Considering her abductor's twisted motivation, Hannah's experience with them could've made for some thrilling drama. It also would've added some dramatic irony to Rachel chasing down false leads while her daughter's true captor avoids arousing her suspicions. Instead, viewers have to settle for a stretch of uninteresting amateur detective work that ultimately doesn't really amount to anything.

Characters:

Rachel and Hannah's relationship is established in the opening minutes and their loving, tension-free bond is sure to make you smile. Their husband/father's death left them as each other's only family, something that comes across clearly in their interactions shortly before the fateful car accident. With Rachel and Hannah being so happy together, it hits all the harder when Hannah goes missing and Rachel scrambles to find her. Local hotel owner Mark is just as sympathetic as the Bakers when he opens up to Rachel about how estranged he is from his own daughter. Mark's also a perfectly charming guy and his small town's most helpful resident when it comes to the search for Hannah. Sheriff Lester is almost aggressively unhelpful, Mark's friend/former fling Kerry is too busy getting jealous of Rachel, and while they both seemingly mean well, Dr. Wilson and his nurse Grace don't do much besides give Rachel words for comfort.

SPOILER ALERT Grace could've provided more assistance, but sadly, she gets murdered before she gets the chance. Speaking of, as the spoilery synopsis confirms, Dr. Wilson's "good doctor" veneer is a mask for his true form: a psychopath looking to force a young woman to replace his and his wife's dead daughter. With lines of dialogue as generic as over-the-counter allergy pills, Dr. Wilson fails to grab your attention as a Lifetime villain. His wife Jenny only does a marginally better job, leaving the couple's burly accomplice Gus to make the most of an impression. Smug before his reveal and borderline sadistic after, Gus is thoroughly hissable and deserving of the beatdown he gets from Mark. Still, two out of three of Big Lies in a Small Town's antagonists fall short of what it takes to be a compelling Lifetime villain. Spoilers Over

Acting:

Rhonda Dent carries much of Big Lies in a Small Town with her stellar performance. It's not totally perfect, but she'll have you rooting/feeling for Rachel as she fights to rescue Hannah and despairs whenever it seems her search is hopeless. Matt Hamilton isn't far behind, laying on the charm as the sweet and slightly awkward Mark and building great onscreen rapport with Dent. Kristina Paras is sadly given little screentime to work with in her feature-length debut as missing daughter Hannah Baker (not to be confused with the Hannah Baker from 13 Reasons Why). But in the time she's given, Paras makes Hannah impossible not to love as she bonds and goofs around with her mother. By extension, it's also impossible not to worry right alongside Rachel about what happened to Hannah after the accident.

The supporting cast is a mixed bag, with their performances ranging from adequate to stale. Ashley Alexander and Brent Stait are decent enough as local waitress Kerry and Sheriff Lester, even if they are stuck playing one-note characters with one-note arcs. Natalie von Rotsburg gets through some stilted deliveries to make nurse Grace an appropriately warm figure, in stark contrast to SPOILER ALERT her insane boss and his demented henchman. While Dax Belanger gives a fairly chilling performance as malevolent mechanic Gus, Stephen Spender doesn't fare as well as the devious Dr. Wilson. Both before and after Wilson's villainous reveal, his acting is as stiff as Wilson's expositional dialogue. Anna Van Hooft is slightly less rigid as Wilson's delusional wife, but between Jenny's equally bland dialogue and the fact that she barely gets to do anything, it's still a far cry from Hooft's best work. Spoilers Over

Overall:

Rachel Baker may be on edge throughout most of Big Lies in a Small Town, but there's a good chance viewers won't be. Most of the cast puts forth their best efforts and some even succeed in making their characters appealing in one way or another. But there's only so much they can do to combat the movie's listless story that squanders its chance at being a suspenseful "Missing Person" drama. The main cast's talent is enough to keep Big Lies in a Small Town from being a complete mess, but it's not enough to get its score into the higher half of the scale.

Score: 4 out of 10 Rainbow Teddy Chews.