Squarely in the line of those semi-documentary exposés of the Fifties, Captive City, Phenix City Story, New Orleans Uncensored, et al., although the emphasis has shifted, as the title would indicate, from How Shocking That Such Things Could Happen Here to How Amazing That Anyone Would Do Anything About It. Times, it seems, have changed. The "anyone" in this case is a battered wife (not for long), harried mother of three, harassed cocktail waitress (again not for long), overaged graduate of Vanderbilt University, soon a cog in the Tennessee state government, and ultimately a whistle-blower on the corruption therein. She might seem too good to be believed if she were not played by Sissy Spacek, who is eminently believable. But the latter can do nothing about the storytelling, which is straight-ahead and slow-afoot. With Jeff Daniels; directed by Roger Donaldson. (1985) — Duncan Shepherd
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