Plain Truth (TV 2004)

An unmarried 18 year-old Amish girl is charged with the murder of her infant child.

Director:

Paul Shapiro

Writers:

Matthew Tabak (teleplay), Jodi Picoult (novel)

Stars:

Mariska Hargitay, Alison Pill, Jan Niklas

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mariska Hargitay	...	Ellie Harrison
Alison Pill	...	Katie Fitch
Jan Niklas	...	Aaron Fitch
Kate Trotter	...	Sarah Fitch
Alec McClure	...	Jacob Fitch
Robert Bockstael	...	George Calloway
Colin Fox	...	Bishop Stoflus
Jonathan LaPaglia	...	Cooper
Laura Leigh Hughes	...	Det. Lisa Munro
Catherine Disher	...	Leda
Andrew Martin-Smith	...	Samuel Stoflus
Christopher Ralph	...	Adam Sinclair
Jeremy Akerman	...	Judge
Mauralea Austin	...	Jury foreman
Nigel Bennett	...	Jeremy Whitmore

Storyline

Discomfort strikes an Amish farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania when a dead baby is found. When the mother is discovered and confirmed to be eighteen-year old, unmarried Katie Fitch, she is arrested and sent to trial for murder. The detectives and police all believe that she smothered the baby. City defense attorney, Ellie Harris takes on the task of defending the Amish girl. As Katie denies that she gave birth to the baby and Ellie tries to get through to her client, the plot of the story just keeps rising and spiraling with twists and shocking new discoveries. Is Katie Fitch really guilty of murdering her newborn child? Will her Amish church exclude or still accept her into the community?

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Plot Keywords:

amish | murder | pregnancy | based on novel

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Taglines:

Behind every murder lies the plain truth.

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Genres:

Drama | Crime | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 October 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

La voix de l'innocence

Filming Locations:

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit (CPTC), Muse Entertainment Enterprises, Nova Scotia Film Industry Tax Credit

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jodi Picoult, the author of Plain Truth, and her family were on the set of the movie as Amish extras.

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Goofs

Just before 53 minutes into the movie, when Ellie is talking to Cooper, her necklace keeps going in and out of her sweater between shots.

User Reviews

Excellent acting, inferior film-making.

COULD have been a fine film, but the slipshod script and corny manipulations made it annoying instead. Oh for intelligent dialogue and more plausible story clashes: Katie insists on telling the plain truth in court, and yet has had no compunction re lying to Ellie at every turn.

Easy on the eyes, this film is flakey on the brain and thus misses the heart. I am sure the author of the book felt sad to see what became of her sensitive story.

The cast did their admirable best, especially the main family as well as Hargitay and LaPaglia. Kate Trotter's subtle genius as the mother was the highlight of the film. These gifted actors surely deserved better than a director who seems to assume his viewers are plain stupid. Watchable, yes, but what a let-down!