Angel of Mine

Things must get progressively worse, Lizzie starts engaging in some creepy behavior. She almost causes an accident with Lola at an ice rink. She shows up at Lola dance recital and coaches Lola from backstage. Claire wonders why Lizzie is there, knowing she only has a son that plays soccer. She now becomes incredibly suspicious of Lizzie.

Angel of Mine is an Australian film and boasts some heavy-hitting actors in Noomi Rapace, Yvonne Strahovski, and Luke Evans. All do an excellent job in their respective roles. But if you remove the stars and replace them with equally talented unknown actors, what you have left is an above-average Lifetime movie.

“…from the performances from its leads and a strong story that holds together to the end.”

The story of an obsessed mother, who believes a random girl is her dead daughter has been told before. What takes it to the Lifetime range is that the drama and thrills are relatively tame and feels heightened thanks to a dramatic movie score. Lizzie’s actions definitely cross the lines of good parenting, but you never get a sense of real danger. Although I found the consequences of Lizzie’s action compelling when they began to affect those close to her, i.e., her parents, ex-husband, and son.

Another (in fairness to Lifetime movies) television trope that I find annoying is near the end of the film before the final confrontation, everyone has to tell their story explaining why they did what they did. It happens here and feels like the Bond-villain explaining in detail who they destroy the world…if everything goes to plan. But while you may see the reveal coming near the end, I enjoyed how it plays out for each character, not just Lizzie and Claire.

Angel of Mine is a good movie for fans of the dysfunctional family melodrama. Primarily from the performances from its leads and a strong story that holds together to the end. The thrills are thrilling but sadly never gets to Fatal Attraction level outcomes.