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Storyline
In 2002, the single mother Michelle Knight is walking to the court for the custody case of her five year-old son Joey, of whom she had lost custody. She realizes that she is late and accepts the ride from her acquaintance Ariel Castro, who is the father of a schoolmate. He lures Michelle telling that his dog delivered several puppies and he would like to give one to her for Joey. Once inside his house, he imprisons her with chains in a dark room. For eleven years, Michelle is beaten and submitted to sexual abuse and abortion. In 2003 and 2004, Ariel also kidnaps and abuses Amanda Berry, who has a child with him, and Gina DeJesus. In 2013, Amanda succeeds in escaping from the house and the police arrive and release the women.
Written by
Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Trivia
It was filmed entirely in Cleveland, Ohio where the abductions took place.
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Goofs
At the start of the movie, the main character is clearly longsighted, as her spectacles have strong convex lenses fitted. The bad guy breaks these glasses early on and soon after she is rescued she is presented with a replacement pair, which she says bring the world back in focus for her at last. But the lenses are obviously just clear glass from then until the end of the film.
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I'm always keen to learn about real-life crime stories and the Ariel Castro kidnappings particularly interested me. The 'Cleveland Abduction' TV film is certainly an interesting watch, though that is down almost entirely to the subject it is covering and not the actual merits of the film. At best, 'Cleveland Abduction' is a solid portrayal of kidnappings, but in reality it could have and probably should have been at lot better.
The film seems to cover the bare minimum of the story, covering all the main events but without going into any real detail and with very little character development. It all feels very half-hearted and even the events the film does cover are portrayed without any real conviction and are less than convincing.
'Cleveland Abduction' is a fascinating watch, but almost entirely because of the story. The film itself is average at best, covering the minimum but lacking in depth and conviction.