Maysville

If you’ve ever watched a Lifetime movie and thought, “I wish all of this drama and craziness were centered on a man, instead of a woman,” then writer/director Leslie Goyette’s Maysville may be the film for you. What starts out as a run of the mill coming of age flick about two teenage best buddies quickly develops into a melodramatic soap opera, complete with unbelievable developments, cheesy dialogue, and some stiff acting.

The story revolves around the young Teddy Rogers (played by Holden Goyette in the beginning, and later on by Kevin Mayr), who is growing up in a small, rural town during Prohibition. Teddy is best friends with Willy Stamper (Forrest Campbell), and it’s explained in voice-over that their dads hated each other before Teddy’s father passed away.

Then tragedy strikes, and this is where Maysville goes bonkers. There’s a tractor accident on the farm, where Willy gets tripped up, and Teddy runs over him by mistake. Everyone is devastated by Willy’s death, but his father Buck (Brian Sutherland) spins into a downward spiral of rage and depression. In the middle of the night, Buck kidnaps Teddy at gunpoint while Teddy’s mom, Clara (Trin Miller), is in hysterics. Clara strangely waits until the next day to go to the police, where a deputy tells her that the sheriff is out of town and there’s nothing that he can do.

“…Buck kidnaps Teddy at gunpoint…”

Meanwhile, Teddy is being abused both physically and emotionally, essentially being used as a slave. When the sheriff finally gets back into town, he and Clara go to Buck’s house, where they see Teddy with bruises all over his face. Visibly scared for his life, Teddy tells them that he wants to stay with Buck. The sheriff stupidly says that there’s nothing that he can do if Teddy wants to stay. If anywhere should defund the police, it is this town.

Inexplicably, four freaking years pass with Teddy living through hell, and he never tries to escape, nor does his mother try to come and get him again. You would think that Buck would grow to have some sort of love and fondness for Teddy over the years, but no. The man still hates him as if the tractor accident were yesterday. Buck tries to burn Teddy alive, but he escapes and heads to the town of Maysville, where he attempts to start a new life from scratch.

All the aforementioned madness of Maysville takes place in the first act. You cannot even imagine the ludicrous twists and turns in store later on. There’s a requisite love story with Teddy and a young lady named Elizabeth, played by Cheyenne Barton, who is most wonderful in the role. Brian Sutherland also does a great job of being the kind of villain who you love to hate, even though the character is so one-dimensional.

Maysville does a fine job of making the viewer feel as if they have been transported to a small town from the past through the nicely constructed sets, locations, and wardrobe. I also enjoyed the inspirational if familiar score. However, it’s a shame that the rest of the film isn’t up to par. This is because some actors leave much to be desired while the writing is far too unbelievable and ridiculous.