It's a quaint New England town, quite beautiful in the fall, yet a terrifying situation for two children kidnapped by a mysterious, obviously troubled stranger (Frédéric Forrest). Their mother, Jill Clayburgh, is a troubled woman with a past, and she's automatically assumed by the judgmental public to have drowned them. Obviously Forrest is up to no good, and as the film goes on, the insinuations of what he's up to become obvious. Nearly going out of her mind in frantic worry, Clayburgh is horrified that the townsfolk would believe her capable of such horrific things. Clayburgh's husband (Max Gail) doesn't know what to believe.
With an ensemble of fabulous chatacger players like Barnard Hughes, Elizabeth Wilson, Louis Zorich and Clifton James, this is a very well acted and extremely suspenseful thriller, and obviously there's more to the kidnapping motive than what the viewer might assume. Still, this is not an easy film to just pick up and get into, even with a powerhouse actress like Clayburgh in the lead. You have to stick with it patiently to understand everything that's going on, especially with the terror of the two children being kept locked up by the disguised Forrest, one of the creepiest villains ever on film.
With an ensemble of fabulous chatacger players like Barnard Hughes, Elizabeth Wilson, Louis Zorich and Clifton James, this is a very well acted and extremely suspenseful thriller, and obviously there's more to the kidnapping motive than what the viewer might assume. Still, this is not an easy film to just pick up and get into, even with a powerhouse actress like Clayburgh in the lead. You have to stick with it patiently to understand everything that's going on, especially with the terror of the two children being kept locked up by the disguised Forrest, one of the creepiest villains ever on film.