The protagonist investigates a crime that hits all too close to home-- and in so doing, becomes all too aware of her newfound isolation amid the world she now enters. Those who can help are either separated from her from a distance, or are in over their head, themselves--being threatened, manipulated, or worse.
Such are ingredients of many a good film noir. And such are the ingredients of "My Mother's Secret".
Nicole deBoer is brilliant, as always, as the heroine of the story--a mother-to-be turned amateur detective, who seeks to answer the question, "Who am I--really?" Is she the daughter of a murder/rapist--the product of a twisted, tragic act? Or...has her father been framed for a crime he didn't commit--by what seems like the entire town?
Let me address the first issue I have: The first twenty minutes or so feel pretty rushed--to put it mildly. BANG--she reveals to her husband she's pregnant. BANG--her "mother" reveals she was adopted. BANG--she goes to the town where her real mother lives.
After a bit, though, the storyline "settles", and we have a good, tense, well-plotted woman's thriller. The characterization is good--the cast is well put together, with (as I said) an excellent lead in Miss deBoer. Her character's husband is good, too, passable as a smart and caring, yet reasonably tough, assistant DA. The tension builds, as her character uncovers layer after layer of corruption and cover-up. Still, she has yet to realize the depths of the danger she has put herself--and her child--into....
Still, aside from the beginning, the film is not without its faults. As typical for many TV-movies, the music is a little TOO pervasive, at times. The "nightmare" sequence is frankly clichéd, and cringe-worthy. Also, the climax doesn't feel as satisfying as it could have been. The problem, to be honest, is that Nicole's character basically takes a back seat, standing back and watching as events come to their conclusion. In a good plot, the protagonist MUST have an active roll in the climax, not just watch and act shocked.
Aside from that--and what I feel is a bit of a "rushed" epilogue--it is a very enjoyable film. It may sound redundant to praise Miss deBoer's acting again--but I must, as she carries the film beautifully, in spite of its flaws. Watching this makes me more than a little regretful that she hasn't been cast in anything major since Deep Space Nine or The Dead Zone.