In this well-crafted drama, a little boy is separated from his older brother while playing in the ocean. In the midst of a game of Marco Polo, little Matty seems to vanish in thin air. He is declared dead, and the grieving parents must go on with their lives.
Fast forward ten years, and an eighteen-year-old shows up on the doorstep of Sarah Sherwood, claiming to be Matty. Sarah is currently grieving the death of her husband Jake, and the kid's appearance seems a little too convenient at the time that Jake's will is being settled. The youngster seems especially eager to claim his "share."
"The Wrong Son" (a.k.a., "Her Son's Secrets") includes a well-developed set of characters, including Matty's older brother Ian, a successful entrepreneur in his early twenties, and his new bride Rachel, a bright young attorney. The filmmakers were successful in developing the tension between the characters' desire to believe that Matty is alive and the evidence piling up against him.
The scene-stealer in the film is the character Jessica Parker, the high school sweetheart of Jake and the figure driving the action. There was especially crisp dialogue throughout, as when Sarah recalls her tortured experience after she lost little Matty: "A scab grew over my heart," she laments. It is Jessica who preys upon Sarah's vulnerability, as she is propelled by vindictiveness and envy. Tammy Blanchard, a great fan favorite of Lifetime viewers for "We Were the Mulvaneys," shows her performing range in this chilling performance.
A mother's true instinct kicks in when Sarah comes to the realization that she would spontaneously recognize her son, despite the passing of ten years. The effective climactic scene finally allows her to let go of the guilt, to come to terms with the nightmare she has endured, and to embrace the destiny of the reunion of a mother with a lost child.
Fast forward ten years, and an eighteen-year-old shows up on the doorstep of Sarah Sherwood, claiming to be Matty. Sarah is currently grieving the death of her husband Jake, and the kid's appearance seems a little too convenient at the time that Jake's will is being settled. The youngster seems especially eager to claim his "share."
"The Wrong Son" (a.k.a., "Her Son's Secrets") includes a well-developed set of characters, including Matty's older brother Ian, a successful entrepreneur in his early twenties, and his new bride Rachel, a bright young attorney. The filmmakers were successful in developing the tension between the characters' desire to believe that Matty is alive and the evidence piling up against him.
The scene-stealer in the film is the character Jessica Parker, the high school sweetheart of Jake and the figure driving the action. There was especially crisp dialogue throughout, as when Sarah recalls her tortured experience after she lost little Matty: "A scab grew over my heart," she laments. It is Jessica who preys upon Sarah's vulnerability, as she is propelled by vindictiveness and envy. Tammy Blanchard, a great fan favorite of Lifetime viewers for "We Were the Mulvaneys," shows her performing range in this chilling performance.
A mother's true instinct kicks in when Sarah comes to the realization that she would spontaneously recognize her son, despite the passing of ten years. The effective climactic scene finally allows her to let go of the guilt, to come to terms with the nightmare she has endured, and to embrace the destiny of the reunion of a mother with a lost child.