Bound by a Secret

MOVIE REVIEW


Bound by a Secret:

Starring Meredith Baxter (“Family Ties”) and Lesley Ann Warren (“In Plain Sight”).

Network: Hallmark Channel Movie

Original Air Date:

CAST:

Meredith Baxter ... Ida Mae

Lesley Ann Warren ... Jane

Bridget Ann White ... Kate

Holt McCallany ... Jimmy
Ellery Sprayberry ... Lila
Timothy Bottoms ... Will

PLOT:

from Hallmark-

Two old friends who share a life-long secret are forced to face the truth – and its consequences – when one is diagnosed with a terminal illness and wants to put all her affairs in order in “Bound By A Secret,” a Hallmark Channel Original Movie.

Meredith Baxter stars alongside Lesley Ann Warren as a pair of strong-willed women who come to terms with the choices they made and how those choices affect the ones they love.

Jane Tetley (Warren), a glamorous soap opera star, is coping with the fact that her recently-diagnosed cancer is indeed terminal. She knows she is going to die and wants to be

with Ida Mae (Baxter), her best friend, for her final days. Jane puts her affairs in order and returns to Walton Falls, the quaint town she grew up in and where Ida Mae still lives.

Ida Mae is thrilled to see her, but the news of her illness is hard to bear. Jane tries to use her last days to convince her dear friend not to love with fear or regret, and tries to get her to open her heart to Will (Timothy Bottoms), a handsome man who opens a ceramics shop near Ida Mae’s teashop. But their friendship takes a hit when Jane reveals that she wants to tell Kate (Bridget Ann White), Ida Mae’s daughter, the truth about her birth: she’s really Jane’s daughter, given up to Ida Mae years ago.

To add to Ida Mae’s worries, Kate’s husband has been offered a job in Seattle and he wants to take it, even if it means leaving their friends and family in Walton Falls. Kate is not so sure about the move, and learning that Ida Mae will lose her best friend seems to help her make her decision. She can’t leave her mother all alone – not now. But if Jane reveals their secret, Ida Mae is not sure what Kate will do, and she is terrified to find out. In the end, it’s the relationship Jane builds with Kate’s daughter, Lila (Ellery Sprayberry), that guides her to make the hard decisions she faces.

Movie Review:

What I liked about this movie - was the intelligent adult conversations. Hallmark always has a way of having smart, well put together casts and scripts. I liked the family aspect of this story - it was refreshing to see a story where the characters all seemed so real... like down-to-earth people we could actually know in our neighborhood!

And when the title tells you that these two sisters are "bound by a secret" ... that is truly the case because the daughter is never told that her aunt is actually her biological mother and her true aunt raised her. Funny thing is though... that the daughter looks more like her "true aunt" who is the mother who raised her than the woman who is supposed to be her mother.

This movie does not have the usual Happy "Hallmark" Ending as the sister does pass away from Cancer... but they do show how everyone is able to pick up the pieces of their lives and move on. I found it to be rather sad, but realistic and hopefully helpful to those who must endure such great pain and loss.



See or Skip:

I suggest having a tissue nearby, if you plan to watch this one.

Please remember - if you have a loved one or friend going through Cancer - many can and do survive from it. God bless you.

Posted in Bound by a Secret , Hallmark Channel , Hallmark Movie , Lesley Ann Warren , Meredith Baxter , Movie Review , Timothy Bottoms