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Category:    Home > Reviews > Telefilms > Drama > Mystery > British > State Of Mind (2003)

State Of Mind (British Telefilm)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: C-     Telefilm: C+

 

 

Paula Milne is a popular female author who has received critical acclaim for her writing and by association, adaptations.  The Kim Basinger feature film I Dreamed Of Africa (2000) had mixed results but the British Mini-Series The Politician’s Wife (1995, reviewed elsewhere on this site) fared better.  In all cases, the stories involve women who have personal crisis while facing larger-than-life ones.  State Of Mind (2003) involves investigator Grace Hazlett (Niamh Cusack) sideswiped by the revelation that her husband has been cheating on her, has to find out if a husband purposely killed his wife or had a blackout when he was driving their SUV.

 

Though the murder segment is laid out well, the shift of this becomes more melodramatic than expected and that holds back the investigative aspects too much as a result.  The casting and acting is good, but things become too jumbled for any aspect of this to thoroughly work.  The material is here, which is all the more reason I was disappointed.  The family drama seems like too much padding to boot.  Others might enjoy this approach, but mystery fans are more likely not to.

 

The 1.33 X 1 full frame presentation is fairly good, but a bit soft, though this is how it basically was broadcast originally.  Lukas Strebel’s camerawork is fair.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo has no surrounds and a very repetitious music score by John Lunn.  The only extras are text filmographies of three of the actors and the TV preview for this telefilm.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo


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