Plain Truth (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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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 October 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cala prawda

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

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

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

With so many changes, they have a nerve to say it was by Picoult!

This might be a slightly biased review, but I have only watched half an hour of this movie, and I've had to turn it off in disgust. They might as well have called it an original movie, because they had nothing of Picoult's original novel in it, not even most of the characters names. For starters, the baby was found in a barn, not in a bunch of reeds, and Sarah and Leda are SISTERS, not cousins. Not to mention the Katie's surname is Fisher, and not Filch. I would understand if some names had to be changed to protect people, but these characters all came from Picoult's imagination. I am absolutely disgusted with their supposed 'interpretation'.

The only redeeming feature I could find in this film was the acting by Alison Pill. Looking at her face shape, she is exactly how I imagined Katie to look.

Fans of the book, I would not recommend you watching this movie. 1/10.