Lifetime Review: 'Fugitive at 17'

Despite everything she has going for her, 17-year-old Holly Hamilton (Marie Avgeropoulos) has had a rough life. While her technological skills are that of geniuses and her grades are exceptional, the death of her parents has left her struggling, as she has to resort to criminal hacking to help her ailing grandmother. Her one reprise is her best friend Blake Brooks (Cindel Chartrand), who Holly is intensely loyal to—to a fault, as her loyalty led Holly to take a drug possession charge to protect Blake.

One night, however, Blake convinces Holly to join her to go to a college party, despite the girls being on probation. While there, Blake meets and is seduced by a college professor who later drugs her in an attempt to take advantage. But unbeknownst to him, Blake's anti-depressants mix badly with the drugs slipped to her, killing her. When Holly comes across the scene, the man takes the opportunity to cover his tracks by drugging Holly and planting the drug vial in her purse, allowing the police to believe Holly had provided Blake with the drugs and kill her, leading to her arrest.

But on her way to jail, Holly inadvertently gets caught in a prison break, allowing her to escape and start going on the run to prove her innocence and get her life back. With the help of college student Dan Dalton (Daniel Rindress-Kay), who she met during the ill-fated party, Holly will destroy the identity of Blake's killer while avoiding capture from Cameron Langford (Christina Cox), a struggling divorced mother still trying to redeem herself for a mistake from an old case. As Holly gets closer to the truth, however, Cameron finds herself working to help the teen clear her name—while Holly fights to bring justice to her best friend and take down a serial predator.

While it's not quite as action-packed as the above promotional art might suggest, Fugitive at 17 is an intense teen thriller that keeps the viewer on their toes. The film's biggest strength, however, comes in the form of Marie Avgeropoulos as Holly. From her first appearances as the skilled teen hacker, Holly is shown to be an intensely loyal and compassionate person—though she hides it well under the veneer of a snarky, tough-as-nails attitude. When Blake ends up dead and Holly is assaulted, in addition to being accused of causing Blake's death, Holly's sensitive side is shown and her hostility towards the police is both frustrating and heartbreaking; as a viewer, you understand where Holly's coming from, but at the same time, you know it won't do anything to help her make her case. It's also heartbreaking to see Holly's grief over Blake's death, especially considering that in life, Blake recklessly pressured Holly to go out partying with her despite their probation and previously let her take the blame for her crimes to protect herself. But when the time comes for Holly to go on the run to clear her name and get justice for her friend, she becomes a fiercely determined avenger who won't rest until she brings justice on Blake's killer—even if it means risking her life.

The rest of the cast sells their roles just as much as Avgeropoulos, with Christina Cox playing Detective Langford with the same strength as Holly. Her backstory goes a long way in revealing her initial abrasiveness with Holly and eventual compassion, and Langford's scenes of confronting her captain/ex Tony (Frank Schorpion) are extremely cathartic and show that Langford believes in her abilities and won't let anyone make herself feel less than. Rosemary Dunsmore also has great scenes with Avgeropoulos as Holly's ailing grandmother, with their loving but troubled relationship coming off as achingly authentic and sincere. Casper Van Dien also turns Spencer Oliphant a chilling villain, even though the climax gives his character some horrifically cliche dialogue (telling Holly at one point, verbatim, "I'm gonna tell you everything, because you're not gonna get out of here alive anyway").

Overall, though, despite some flaws, Fugitive at 17 is a strong installment in the "At 17" saga, with compelling characters and strong action and thrills to keep Lifetime fans and regular viewers alike entertained. Fugitive at 17 is definitely a high point of this series, and is one that any fan of "At 17" films can't afford to miss out on.

Score: 9 out of 10 long fingernails.