As a true crime aficionado (or is it afficionada?), I watched the true story and capture of Colonel Williams play out on one of the States' true crime networks. I was thrilled to find out that Lifetime had recreated the story, but I was very disappointed. Except for Gary Cole's performance, I found every other actor in this movie lacking any real depth. The performances by the leads- Laura Harris, Rossif Sutherland and the actress who portrayed Captain Novak-were so lackluster that I really didn't believe any of them could crack a case of this magnitude.Gary Cole saves this movie from being completely horrible.
... View MoreThe title says it all. There's no mystery here in who's doing it, breaking into houses stealing underwear and dildos, at the same time as he is living a perfect life and is just appointed the main boss at an important military establishment.The mystery is how a well respected man can be such an offender. Well, he's not the first, and will not be the last, seemingly living a perfect life, but not able to control his sick sexual urges.This Canadian movie, directed by Norma Bailey has Gary Cole in the main role, and he is doing a great job as always. As is the rest of the cast, though that's not a shock, as Canadians are very good at making films with true and realistic acting.Well worth a watch!
... View MoreThis is a pretty decent Lifetime Movie Network made-for-TV production. It's about a full colonel and base commander in the Canadian Air Force, Gary Cole, and how he begins sneaking about at night, burglarizing the houses of his neighbors, stealing women's panties first, then graduating to two rape/murders before finally being caught by the Provincial Police.When his wife isn't around, he dresses up in brassieres and underpants and takes pictures of himself in the mirror. This is truly disgusting. The occasional use of fishnet stockings and stiletto heels, which I use in front of a mirror when I'm imitating Judy Garland belting out show tunes, is tasteful and requires skill. But this pig deserves the two life terms he winds up with.What gets me is -- well, here is this apparently normal man in, say, his mid-40s, who has risen to the rank of full colonel, commands an entire Air Force base, has piloted around the Queen of England as well as other notables, yet carries about in his head this uncontrollable urge to commit these bizarre acts. How come nobody has found out about his trunk full of women's underwear that he's been schlepping around for years? Not even his wife seems to know about his quirks. It's almost unimaginable that this pathology should suddenly blossom out of nowhere, having left no tracks behind. How could no one notice? All right, he's a military man and shows a lot of self discipline. And indeed he does, cool under interrogation by the police, filled with concern about the impact of his exposure on the base personnel. And yet he's dumb enough to leave revealing tire tracks at the house of his last victim. And when he comes to the police station to be questioned, he removes his boots and leaves them in the hallway -- the boots that left prints at the victim's house. He may be a perfect pilot but he's a dumb perp who has never watched a cop show on TV.Gary Cole is pretty good. He's cooperative and unemotional. He cares about people. When he leads the police to the decomposing corpse of his last victim, he remarks, with apparent sincerity, "She was a nice kid." The detective-in-charge, Laura Harris, does a professional job, and she's supported by Rossif Sutherland, Kiefer's half brother. He has a marvelous tone in his voice but its expression is flat. He sounds the same whether he's comfortable or angry. Of the victims, Micheline Marchildon is memorable as the French Canadian who becomes the first dead body. She's a mere corporal, by the way, and lives alone in a very nice house off the base. I was a non-commissioned officer, the equivalent of a sergeant, and outranked her, yet I consistently found myself in a bunk that left barely enough room to roll over at night.There are an abundance of True Crime movies that are shot in Canada -- for reasons of economy, I presume -- and pretend to be located somewhere else. It's nice to see a Canadian movie that is shot in the same country in which the events took place. Many of these movies are fairly shoddy but this one doesn't waste much time on padding out the crime theme with casual meanders into dysfunctional families, fights between the colonel and his wife, excessive expressions of grief, and the like. It's better than that.
... View MoreThis base commander had it all. Deeply respected by all and a favorite of the Queen, he had some career ahead of him. Go know that he was a sexual predator whose escapades became more and more violent and eventually would lead up to a double murder.Go know that the tires on his car would eventually do him in. What dastardly acts he committed. Dressing up as a woman was part of the act as well.Interesting to see how the case was cracked. You'd think this commander would have been beyond reproach. However, when the evidence started pointing to him, they had no other alternative but to pursue him.
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