***SPOILERS*** Breakout movie for the then 28 year old actress Laura Linney as drug and alcohol addicted Phoebe Ryan who's secret life of living in the fast lane came out into the open when her equally cocaine sniffing husband Charlie, Reed Diamond, ended up killing himself in a car smashup. Being seven months pregnant at the time Phoebe survived the accident being in critical condition with her baby girl Olivia being born one month premature.It's Phoebe mom congresswoman Nell Harringtonn, Joanne Woodward, who is shocked to find out that both her beloved son-in-law Charlie and daughter were doing drugs behind her and her husband Simon's, Fritz Weaver, back all these years! And now with Charlie her campaign manager in her run for the Senate dead and exposed, to her and her husband, as a drug abuser she sees her run for the Senate now go up in flames! That together with Pheobe's future in polities and the entertainment, Pheobe is a nightclub singer, world. Not to mention the future of her granddaughter Olivie who's hooked on cocaine because of her mother's addiction to it!The movie has Nell try to get Phoebe help by getting her off the stuff,drugs & alcohol, with very little cooperation of her daughter. It's Phoebe who seems to have a death wish not just for herself but her new born baby daughter Olivia. The drug and alcohol abuse together with the tragic death of her husband Charlie had so screwed up Phoebe's head that nothing short of a miracle can straighten her out. And that miracle turned out to be "Family House" a place that takes in drug addicted mothers and their likewise children and is alway hard up for cash to keep its operation going. Phoebe who at first resisted all attempts to cure her soon saw that life on the streets and the addiction to hard drugs that comes along with it isn't the way to live and bring up her daughter Olivia. As well as treat her loving parents Nell & Simon who did everything possible, even pay off the "Family House" chief administrator, to get her into the program.Laura Linney is both amazingly realistic as well as tragic in her role as Phoebe Ryan and gives the film the honesty and creditability that it needs to make its point. Not that everyone else in the cast like Joanne Woodward & Fritz Weaver didn't do an excellent job as Phoebe's concerned and,in them not noticing her drug addiction sooner, guilt ridden parents. But it was Miss Linney who was the glue that kept the movie together and thus made it successful in showing the audience the horrors as well as consequences of drug addiction. And how it effects everyone from those rich and powerful, like the Harringtons, to the helpless and unwed mothers at the "Family House" who Phoebe became friends with.

'Blind Spot' tells the story of a Congresswoman (Nell Harrington played by JoAnne Woodward) running for Senate whose world is shattered when her son-in-law dies in a tragic car accident. This devastating event leads to revelation after revelation, including the fact that the accident was related to Charlie's drug abuse and use of cocaine by Nell's pregnant daughter, Phoebe (Laura Linney).The film chronicles the aftermath of the accident and the effects it has on Nell, her husband, Phoebe, and ultimately Phoebe's child. It is a hard-hitting drama about the devastating consequences illicit drug use has on the addict, the family, an unborn child and portrays the struggling relationships between Nell, her husband, and Phoebe.In addition to its amount of substance, the thing that sets this movie above other made-for-TV flicks is its splendid acting. Woodward portrays the struggling mother in a convincing, emotional fashion. The supporting cast does a fine job as well. But its Linney who really shines here. She turns in a fantastic performance, portraying a range of emotions (guilt, desperation, anger, hate, remorse). I believe this movie helped shape Linney's career, since it was the first time anyone really got to see her ACT on film.'Blind Spot' is definitely worth seeing.

I really enjoyed this movie...except it's hard to say enjoy when it comes to a drama, which this most definately is. The performances were outstanding. Joanne Woodward is amazing (but then again, isn't she always?), Laura Linney (who I don't normally like) was also fantastic. Well, here's the jist of it. Nell Harrington (Woodward) has prettymuch the perfect life. She's state representative, she's got a great marriage, her daughter Phoebe (Linney) is married to the head of her staff (Charlie- who she adores)and is pregnant, and Nell's about to run for the Senate. Phoebe gets rather irritable at one of Nell's speeches and they have a short little mother-daughter talk. And Nell says something we assume she's said before from Phoebe's reaction. Nell: "I guess I was just lucky to feel fantastic all the way through my pregnancy with you. I argued a case in front of the Supreme Court the day before I had to you- and I won it, too. And I was back on the job six days later." Then, there is a car accident. Charlie is dead, Phoebe is left with just a few bruises. They find out that Charlie was on cocaine. Not only was Charlie the head of her staff, but also her son-in-law, which is why Nell's press secretary is nervous the media will get a hold of the story.Little by little, it's found out that Phoebe is on cocaine too...and she's pregnant. Nell gets her into a prestigious place called "the Family house" for Phoebe to get help. The movie is extremely good...I was in tears, yes. But I am ALWAYS in tears at every movie I've seen. The acting is positively superb. See this movie!!!

This TVM directed by Michael Toshiyuki Uno is notable for how Laura Linney steals the tube, as the daughter of Joanne Woodward as Washington congressman faced with the issue of drug addiction. The use of real life pictures of Woodward with her own daughter ,and the fact that she co-produced, tells you that the subject has personal significance for Woodward. Unfortunately for her the teleplay by Nina Shergold, based on a story by Michael McTaggart and Ellen M Violett, presents Woodward as a harridan, evidence of the negative effects of a working mother. At one point Fritz Weaver as her husband says "Trying to reason with you is like standing in front of a bulldozer". If the idea of making the drug addict a torch singer who idolises Billie Holliday is perhaps rather overstated, the teleplay also raises a generational comparison between drug taking and alcoholism. The music score by Patrick Williams is used to lovely effect in one scene, when a baby is first held, but otherwise we get soaked in inspirational uplift. Watch for Patti D'Arbanville, and Allison Janney.