Andie MacDowell and Daniel Sunjata in "At Risk"
courtesy of Lifetime
“At Risk” (Lifetime)

Mystery writer Patricia Cornwell’s books are immensely popular. Therefore it is a cause for much excitement that Lifetime is presenting screen adaptations of two of her stories. The first is “At Risk” which will be shown on April 10. “The Front” will be presented on April 17.

“At Rick” centers on Win Garano (Daniel Sunjata), an investigator for the Massachusetts State Police. His boss is Monique “Money” Lamont (Andie MacDowell) who is the state District Attorney. When Lamont tells Win to investigate a cold case concerning the death of an elderly woman he at first refuses. Later he is manipulated into doing her bidding.

Win relies heavily on the assistance of a fellow investigator named Sykes (Annabeth Gish). She handles the case down in Knoxville, where it took place, while Win does some investigating in Boston. Eventually the two investigations come together.

The movie is fast paced but also has the feeling you have started in the middle of the story. You never know the background of Win and Sykes. It appears there is some romantic entanglement but it is never fully explained. Also there is a father figure for Win named Jesse Huber (Barclay Stone). Who is he and where did he come from? Not answered.

These omissions make it difficult to follow the story. The viewer is constantly playing catch up. And we haven’t even touched on the co-worker called “Stump” (Ashley Williams). It looks like we will learn more about her next week.

One of the bright spots of the film is the appearance of Diahann Carroll as “Nana,” Win’s grandmother. She is a delight to watch and she actually adds substance to the story. At the other end of the spectrum is McDowell, who overacts to her heart’s content. There isn’t one scene appearance or one word out of her mouth that rings true. Money Lamont is supposed to be larger than life but MacDowell takes her over the top.

Even with the overacting and the holes in the plot this is still a fun movie to watch. Sunjata is a handsome and charismatic leading man. He keeps you focused on the screen. Too the story is full of enough action to keep viewers interested in what is going to happen next. What does happen may not make much sense but it is still exciting.

I also happen to be a huge Annabeth Gish fan and would watch her in anything she does. 
In this movie I just wish she had had more to do. But then I feel that way about every film she is in.

Also look for a cameo by Cornwell at the very start of the film. She plays a waitress at a private club and even gets to speak a few lines of dialogue.

If you are a Patricia Cornwell fan you won’t want to miss any of this. “At Risk” premieres on Lifetime, Saturday, April 10 at 9PM. “The Front” will follow next Saturday with basically the same cast and characters.
 

 

 

 

 

©2010 Jackie K. Cooper

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