Carnal Innocence (2011 TV Movie) User Reviews

The saga of Tucker Longstreet = B-level gold

[tommyboy938 · 5/10 · 2 January 2017]

My girlfriend has got me into Nora Roberts / Lifetime movies, and they're a lot of fun in the way that bad horror or action is.

Boiled down, this is the story of a famous violinist Caroline returning to small town Mississippi and falling for millionaire playboy, Tucker Longstreet.

Sounds pretty straightforward, but the thing that made this movie for me were the red flags on Tucker as romantic lead and how Caroline just rolls with it. I might have these a bit out of sequence, but here goes (SPOLIERS):

Red flag 1: Tucker almost causes a near fatal collision with Caroline.

Red flag 2: Caroline finds out one of Tucker Longstreet's ex-girlfriends has been murdered.

Red flag 2: Caroline finds Tucker alone on her property and he acts weird to her.

Red flag 3: Caroline finds the body of Tucker's other and most recent girlfriend on HER property.

Red flag 4: She's playing a violin solo in her house,Tucker walks in unannounced and starts clapping, she turns around startled.

The first thing he says isn't "Hello" or "Sorry for startling you". He says: "I didn't kill those women."

Red flag 5: Immediately after this, someone starts shooting at them in HER house.

Red flag 6: The next day, Tucker crashes his car into her property and destroys her gate

Red flag 7: Tucker then hires the son of the guy who tried to kill them to do... jobs around the house?

It keeps going. Accents drop in and out. Lines are delivered horribly. But Carnal Innocence is never boring. Oh yeah, the name of the small town is Innocence. Lol.

Also, if you drink every time somebody says TUCKER LONGSTREET's full name, I promise you'll have a very toasty afternoon.

weak crime drama and questionable romance

[SnoopyStyle · 4/10 · 22 August 2016]

A woman is found dead in the river near the small town of Innocence, Mississippi. Famed violinist Caroline Waverly (Gabrielle Anwar) returns to her late grandmother's home to escape problems. She hasn't been back since 9 years old. Tucker Longstreet (Colin Egglesfield) is the local playboy from the rich family in town. Josie (Jud Tylor) is his sister, Dwayne is his screw-up brother, and Della Duncan (Shirley Jones) is his longtime nanny. Edda Lou Hatinger believes Tucker is marrying her and she makes a scene at the diner when he rejects her. The killer lures her out to the river and kills her. Sheriff Burke investigates with newly arrived FBI Agent Matthew Burns. Both women were Tucker's exes and he's the prime suspect. Edda Lou's father Austin is arrested after shooting at Tucker.

Romance writer Nora Roberts moves towards the crime drama in this one. I'm not a fan and I couldn't claim to know her writing. As crime drama, this is not good. Caroline shows no sign that Tucker could possibly be the killer. In fact, it's the opposite and the tension is all gone. Why would Austin come after Caroline instead of Tucker? The characters don't always make sense. This is too desperate to make it a romance which only makes it a bad romance. The production is weaker TV level. The actors are mostly second tier. By the second half, the story and the killer's identity stops mattering.

Hilariously bad with every southern stereotype in the cracker barrel

[highwaytourist · 1/10 · 21 August 2011]

This southern Gothic wannabe was adapted from an original novel, but it's hopelessly derivative. I haven't read the book, but boy did I watch the movie. It's so filled with clichés and stereotypes, at times it played like a "Airplane" style comedy. It takes place in a town called Innocence. How ironic! I especially enjoyed hearing the actors slip in and out of their bogus, Honey Chile southern accents. There are also several prized clichés- talk about runnin' barefoot, eatin' craw fish, chasin' fireflies, huntin' possum, guttin' trout, and of course, deep dark family secrets. All that was missing was a trailer park with a tire hanging from a rope tied to a tree. The story involves a world-famous violinist from Innocence who returns back home to her late grandmammy's place after experiencing romantic disappointment. She soon catches the eye of the town's hunky womanizer, a rich guy named Tucker, who looks more like an Abercrombie & Fitch model than the scion of wealthy southern gentry. Well, shuck my corn! Of course, she and Tucker fall in love. Problem is, the friendly neighborhood serial killer is offing various white trash ladies who were romantically linked to Tucker. So, is our fair maiden next? Will he kiss her or try to kill her? It's up to us to figure it out while we get to meet a wide array of southern stock characters amid hot sunny days and steamy humid nights. I have to admit, I enjoyed all the badness. If you keep your sense of humor high and your expectations low, you may enjoy it too.

A Good Nora Robert's Adaptation!

[jimmullinaux · 13 September 2011]

Up front, I enjoyed this movie. According to my wife, the Nora Roberts expert in our family, the writers and producers did a pretty good job of following the book's story. The actors were attractive and competent, even though Colin Egglesfield's attempt to look like Tom Cruise was rather vain. Gabrielle Anwar was her lovely and seductive self, and it was great seeing Shirley Jones on the screen again. However, there were some glaring irregularities with the production we couldn't help but notice. Granted, when adapting a novel for television, the writers and producers are under pressure to clean them up and make them politically acceptable for family viewing, especially for Lifetime and Hallmark audiences. But sometimes these efforts border on the absurd. For example, take the character of Sheriff Burke, the elected sheriff of the small Mississippi town where the story takes place. In the novel, Nora's facts are believable. The sheriff is a typical good old white boy who is married to an attractive and socially prominent white woman. But in this production, the sheriff is a black man who is married to an attractive and socially prominent white woman. I don't think the times have changed that much - certainly not in rural Mississippi. Next, have you ever looked at a scene and wondered what's wrong with this picture? There is a July 4th celebration in the story, complete with whooping and hollering and good old country music. But as you look at this scene in this production, you can't help but notice what's missing – confederate flags. Excuse me, in Mississippi those good old boys are going to wave flags, both American and most surely confederate. Finally, there's the matter of the Mississippi heat. This story takes place in the summertime in Mississippi, which is hot, humid and all around sticky. Yet the sheriff and FBI dude walk around outside in the heat with a clean shirt and tie, buttoned at the top yet, and not a spot of wetness showing through their shirts. There is also a scene where the hero and heroine are lounging romantically in front of a roaring fireplace. A roaring fireplace in Mississippi in the summertime is not romantic, it's insane! But even with these nick-picky faults, the movie was good and we recommend it highly.

Less than 1

[ucfengrfla · 1/10 · 13 June 2011]

This is the worst made-for-television movie I have ever watched. What a waste of time. I enjoy Nora Roberts' books, and Carnal Innocence was a decent book. Other movies made from her books have been okay. This was was horrible. Bad acting, bad screenplay, bad directing. Fake southern accents, no real depth to the characters. The characters were not believable, neither was the setting. And don't get me started about the "violin playing". Next time get a real female violinist as a body double. I kept watching in the hope it would improve. Wasted my time. Please do not waste yours. Read the book instead and use your own imagination. Obviously, the screenwriter(s), actors and director did not or could not.

So bad I couldn't help but keep watching

[ccorreialoureiro · 1/10 · 5 December 2019]

Non believable characters, dialogs, everyone was inconsistent, unecessary drama, forced acting, nothing ever made sense. A killer dropping female bodies in her lake and she coveres up the broken windows with plastic and tape? Doors are always open? Also, this is supposed to be a romance and it is not believable that a man of his league would be interested in a woman who plays violin and seriously look like his mom. So bad I find it the finest of bad romance/thriller movies. It wins both cathegories.

Carnal Innocence- Where's Ann-Margret's Knowledge? ***

[edwagreen · 7/10 · 15 June 2011]

Interesting, intriguing film dealing with a series of murders in a small Mississippi town. The town seems to be nicely integrated and with the exception of a black man being beaten up in one scene, all people seem to live in harmony. In fact, the head of the police is a black gentleman.

Shirley Jones, as Della, has a small role here. At the very end, she has a strong,emotional scene once the killer has been revealed. Ironically, one of the victims of the murderer is a woman who resembled Shirley so much in her Oscar winning role as Lulu Baines in 1960's "Elmer Gantry."

Our leading man, Colin Egglesfield, ought to change his name. He will be the object of every joke regarding eggs should his career evolve.

This story has everything going for it. You play a real guessing game in determining who the murderer is and I guarantee that you will not come up with the answer.

We've got lust, cheating on spouses, revenge, and so much more.

The Real South

[apatridge · 1/10 · 10 September 2012]

Can I make a suggestion? If you are going to write a book and make a movie set in Mississippi, make sure you visit here first. The accents were terrible. I was really embarrassed for some of the actors. Also just so you know, there are no mountains in Mississippi. Anyone from here could tell that the location was totally off. Mississippi is a beautiful state with a lot to offer. It would be nice if someone gave us a fair shake and tried to get to know the real South for once. You would really enjoy it. After all we are famous for our hospitality!

I love Nora Roberts but I was so disappointed in this book and movie. This could have been so much better.

Southern Comfort

[lavatch · 1/10 · 24 December 2020]

The fatal flaw of "Nora Roberts' Carnal Innocence" was in the screenplay that included far too many characters. The result was a long parade a new faces with all of the roles underdeveloped.

The actors were stuck with trying invest cameos with some substance, and the result was often caricatures. For example, there are four new male characters whom we meet in a bar in the middle of the film. The men decide that they are going to beat or even kill a black laborer named Toby March. The abhorrent scene that follows almost appears like the parody of a lynching.

The main romantic relationship of Caroline Waverly and Tucker Longstreet was so far-fetched that the love connection was never made credible. Caroline was a virtuoso violinist who had played Carnegie Hall. Tucker was a lady's man with no understanding or appreciation of Bach's concerto "Largo ma non tanto." It was hardly believable that Caroline would ever give the time of day to the rube of Sweetwater, let alone put her career on hold for a fling.

With so many characters and plot strands, there was never a clear set of suspects for the serial murders. At some point, the audience needs to "care" about the characters and situations. But this Gothic romance set in the Deep South failed to elicit any empathy and never produced some much needed Southern Comfort.

A good movie!!!

[sew-33531 · 10/10 · 18 April 2019]

Oh my goodness!! All the negative reviews are ridiculous. This movie never pretended to be anything other than a fun thriller/mystery. Great Lifetime movie. People are complaining (and people do have opinions on everything) but I thought the actors did a fine job with the accents.

If You Like a Southern Setting and Lifetime Movies....

[blondehrtbreakr · 21 September 2011]

Then this movie is for you.

There are A LOT of cheesy accents (I even heard one of the actors mistakenly do a BOSTON accent at one point!).

Despite these accent issues, if you like a Southern setting (think, 'The Skeleton Key', but with a Lifetime feel) - then you will probably dig this movie.

I would not consider this a suspense film, as there are no suspenseful moments whatsoever. It's a very PG "mystery". I would allow my daughter to watch it (she's 11).

They didn't make this movie to win any awards. It is what it is, and the makers of the movie know it. Lot of cute male eye candy too ;) Perfect for a lazy afternoon on the couch. Give it a shot.

5/10.

Not bad

[rcoleman-01019 · 8/10 · 14 December 2020]

Better than expected Gabrielle does a good job in this movie and faces her past head on. Best suspense movie ive seen in a long time and couldn't tell what was going to happen next. I was pleasantly suprised.

Wow, what a mess! Less than 1 star, maybe minus 10!

[rightwingisevil · 15 March 2012]

i rarely encountered a movie, i mean, well, a B movie, could be so bad like this one. the screenplay is so bad, the dialog, holly molly, the worst, the acting....eh....since the dialog is so bad that definitely affected the actors to perform unnaturally bad, and truly that everybody acted so badly that almost became an eye sore to watch. if there's a director, then this guy should consider changing his occupation since there's definitely no future at all for him to make a living in movie industry. this a very pretentious and stupid to the extreme A movie (since it's worse than a B movie), "A" abbreviated as "Avoid", so avoid it as best as you could. there's nothing to be reviewed since it deserves not to be reviewed. a famous female violinist? a southern township full of retarded morons and gossipy folks? and worst of all, a serial killer in a small town kept murdering town folks? worst of the worst, the serial killer might tie up with the homecoming violinist? what a stupid scenario and plot? show me some brain, will you? i rest my case.