Carolina Moon (2007)

A woman who has psychic visions returns to her hometown to exorcise her demons, and finds both danger and love.

Director:

Stephen Tolkin

Writers:

Stephen Tolkin (screenplay), Nora Roberts (novel)

Stars:

Claire Forlani, Oliver Hudson, Chad Willett

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Claire Forlani	...	Victoria 'Tory' Bodeen
Oliver Hudson	...	Cade Lavelle
Chad Willett	...	Wade Mooney
Jonathan Scarfe	...	Dwight Collier
Josie Davis	...	Faith Lavelle
Jacqueline Bisset	...	Margaret Lavelle
Shaun Johnston	...	Han Bodeen
Greg Lawson	...	Police Chief Carl Russ
Maureen Rooney	...	Sari Bodeen
Kailin See	...	Sherry Bellows
Shae Keebler	...	Young Hope Lavelle / Young Faith Lavelle
Gabrielle Casha	...	Young Tory Bodeen
Brieanna Moench	...	Lissy
Kade Philps	...	Young Cade (as Kade Phillips)
Connor Robinson	...	Young Wade

Storyline

In her mid-twenties, Tory Bodeen returns to the small Carolina town of her childhood, where her best friend Hope was murdered in an unsolved assault. Tory is blessed - or maybe cursed - with the ability to see events in the past and present, and although at the time she knew what has happening to Hope, she was unable to prevent it or to see who the assailant was. Her father, a righteous religious fanatic, remains a suspect. As the anniversary of Hopes death approaches, Tory resolves to face her demons with the help of childhood friends - her cousin Wade, Hope's sister Faith, and Hope's brother Cade, who still carries a torch for her. Will friends be enough?

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Plot Keywords:

voyeur | panties | sex scene | bra | rape | 

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Genres:

Mystery | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-14

Did You Know?

Trivia

Based on the book of the same title by Nora Roberts

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Goofs

When Tory is target shooting at the straw man with Cade, she fires the pistol and then pulls the hammer back for the next shot. The pistol is an automatic and cocks itself after each shot. Tory also makes other serious handgun handling errors like waving the pistol with the hammer back after her father leaves the shop, and putting it down without letting the hammer down or engaging the safety mechanism, even though there is a person standing in front of her.

User Reviews

A Deceptively Good Whodunit - Just Beware The Accents.

This film is based on the Nora Roberts novel of the same name. I have to confess that I do have a soft spot for her TV movie adaptations, I particularly liked Midnight Bayou, Tribute, and Northern Lights. If you've seen any of these then you roughly know what to expect.

In Carolina Moon Stephen Tolkin tells the story of Victoria Bodeen and her psychic ability of second sight. When Victoria "Tory" Bodeen was young her life was a mixture of good and bad. The good was her best friend Hope and the adventures they had in the local woods. The bad was her religious zealot of a father, who saw Tory's psychic gift as a curse. One that needed beating out of her. One nighttime, Tory was meant to meet Hope in the woods, though her father had whipped her so bad that she failed to make their rendezvous. Suddenly her gift kicks in and she has to watch helplessly as her best friend is killed. Worse yet, it's through the eyes of the killer. Her father moves the family away a few weeks later and Tory leaves them as soon as she can. Eighteen years later and she's returned to her hometown to try and find peace from the ghosts and memories that have plagued her. It's not long before Tory is having visions of other murdered girls... do these have something to do with Hope's murder? Is her killer still out there? Are they still active?

Tolkin does a splendid job of casting suspicion onto just about everybody in this film and that is where its strength lies. I had a good idea of who did it, and I was correct, though I was thrown off the trail more than once by other possibilities. As for the direction, Tolin doesn't do pretty or interesting, though there were plenty of opportunities to enthrall us. However, he stays to the standard point- and-shoot style of most TV movies. Sometimes it's nice to have a sweeping shot or an interesting angle. The pace of the film is in keeping with the style; generally, the film has a steady and even pace. Tolkin does speed it up a little to create a little tension near the climax of the film when the killer is revealed. More suspension and tension wouldn't have gone amiss with the psychic visions and the daughter and father scenes - this would have shown her distrust and terror of the man.

For the most part, the acting is above average and though I do like Claire Forlani her fake southern accent does start to irritate, though her acting is on par. It's Oliver Hudson who could win the Redwood prize in this film as there are more than a few scenes where his acting is wooden. It's Jacqueline Bisset, Shaun Johnston, and Josie Davis who are the strongest and most believable in their characters which make this movie stronger. In fact, Johnston as the Bible Bashing and Daughter whipping father is so realistic and believable I wanted to hit him myself.

I would recommend this to everyone as it's a good film about youth, friendship, overcoming loss, and rebuilding relationships. All of that tied up in a whodunit murder mystery with a paranormal twist. I did enjoy the film though I'm not sure I would purposefully watch it again... but who can say, it does have Claire Forlani in it...

Details

Official Sites:

Lifetime TV Lifetime TV

Country:

USA Germany Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 February 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Nora Roberts' Carolina Moon

Filming Locations:

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mandalay Television, Stephanie Germain Productions, ARD Degeto Film

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1