A Trick of the Mind (2006 TV Movie) User Reviews

Interesting thriller

[vchimpanzee · 15 October 2009]

At the start of the movie, Jamie is in the car with her parents on a rainy night. She has never stuck with any job, and seems to have little ambition, yet her parents want her to take over their Chicago realty firm. So they are arguing and her father, who is driving, is not paying enough attention.

There is a crash. Jamie is in the hospital, her parents deceased. Josh, a lawyer from the firm, tells her she has inherited a great deal of money and he needs to know what the future of the firm will be. Jamie still wants nothing to do with the business.

Once Jamie is out, she is delusional, still feeling a great deal of guilt over what happened to her parents. She spends time in a mental institution.

After Jamie gets better, she goes to build houses with Habitat for Humanity. That's where she meets Michael, who is kind and caring and just right for Jamie. In a matter of weeks they are married and he is running her parents' firm along with Jamie. Then Jamie is contacted by a private detective named Helen who warns her Michael has a dark past. The problem is that only Jamie can see Helen. And there is no evidence of her accusations.

Michael lets Jamie talk to Mrs. Roper, the sweet old lady who raised him as a child. Surely there is nothing wrong with him. Perhaps Jamie is still having mental problems.

Meanwhile, Jamie's parents' firm will make a lot of money if they evict people from low-income housing, thanks to some less-than-honest actions by Paul. And Michael and Jamie's best friend Serena seem a little too friendly.

So is Jamie crazy? Or is there something she should know about Michael?

Alexandra Holden does a very good job. We are kept guessing for the longest time, and then we see an interesting process that leads to the truth.

Two actresses stand out from the rest. One plays Mrs. Roper, and I can't remember her first name, so I can't say who she is, which is a shame. She is wonderful. Such a sweet lady.

The other plays a friend Jamie met in the hospital. Jennifer Shirley is truly nuts, and gives this film some comedy relief.

I enjoyed it.

Predictable

[vr66 · 3/10 · 9 August 2006]

I figured out the "mystery" in the first ten minutes! All I saw was a modern version, tweaked with new plot.. version of Gaslight ('44) {OK, that might be a stretch but that's what *I* saw} The whole movie I keep trying to find SOMETHING to surprise me into not believing what I thought... but in the end, it was disappointing that what I thought.. was true. The acting... was OK, but the love story was a reach to see. I'm not up on commenting on acting... just the movie as a whole. The only surprise I saw, was how and who she actually got help from. That's the only part that kept me guessing and questioning myself as to how elaborate the plan/plot was. The movie might have done a bit better to lengthen the romance or not spread other concepts out so thin, or maybe not include so many extra details. I guess the wonderful misdirection of Sixth Sense has spoiled me. I give it only a ***1/2 because it was predictable. If you didn't see Gaslight.. I guess you'll enjoy it. I preferred the drama towards the end of the movie. Enjoy.

Jamie's Journey Into Madness

[lavatch · 8/10 · 19 March 2020]

"A Trick of the Mind" (a.k.a., "Mind Games") is a successful thriller with a well-developed set of characters. On the receiving end of the mind games is the central character of Jamie, who is ridden by guilt after an argument with her parents culminated in an auto crash that takes the lives of both the mother and father.

As Jamie undergoes the long process of recovery, she inherits the family's multi-million-dollar real estate business and meets her dream man, Michael, while working on a Habitat for Humanity project. Jamie's best friend, Serena, is suspicious of the quick marriage and has her antenna up for Michael. Then, a mysterious female private investigator appears on the scene and warns Jamie about Michael's shady past.

As Jamie becomes more confused and desperate, she winds up in mental asylum, where she is drugged by her clueless psychiatrist. Meanwhile, the real estate business is taken over by her husband. Jamie would appear to have only one ally, the mild-mannered attorney named Josh.

The filmmakers were successful in stringing the audience along for nearly three-quarters of the film without revealing the truth of what is happening to poor Jamie. There was excellent tension built, leading to Jamie's daring escape from the nut house, followed by a whirlwind visit to Michael's high school reunion. It is there that Jamie digs up the dirt from a number of tipsy women. She then pays a visit to Michael's dear old mother where she learns he clincher about her dear husband.

The character developments were superb. Michael was a genuine charmer. The private investigator, Helen Delaney, was a smooth and polished pro. Jamie's bestie, Serena, was a character rife with ambiguity. The psychiatrist, Dr. Hauser, was a formidable pill pusher. And Jamie herself was a thoroughly engaging character study who was either a fragile Blanche du Bois or a victim of a diabolical gigolo. The film adds up to an carefully crafted and entertaining journey into the deepest caverns of the human mind.