Committed (2011) Andrea Roth, Richard Burgi, Peter MacNeill, Linda Thorson, Liisa Repo-Martell Movie Review

Committed (2011)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Andrea Roth in Committed (2011)

Having a Roth Time of It

Dr. Celeste Dupont (Andrea Roth - A Golden Christmas) has decided she needs some time away from the city and has arranged to work at the Millburn Psychiatric institute in an isolated country location. And all seems fine when she arrives to be greeted by the friendly Dr. Quilley (Peter MacNeill - My Family's Secret) and his assistant, Donneymeade (Liisa Repo-Martell), who shows her around whilst meeting the patients, who are referred to as guests. But all that comes crashing down when she is shown to her room in the same wing as the guests and she learns that she is there because following the death of her fiancee she suffered a nervous breakdown. Unable to leave Celeste is forced to try and make sense of why she is being kept against her will, adamant that she shouldn't be a guest whilst meeting the other doctors and guests. But as she spends time in the institute where guests are encouraged to be who they think they are she believes nothing is as simple as it first seems.

Why do people have such a negative opinion of TV movies, just because they may not have the budget or star power of big screen movies doesn't automatically mean that they are not entertaining. That brings me to "Committed" which has this entertaining set up of a psychiatrist finding herself in an institute where the doctors insist she is a patient rather than there to work. It is a set up which in some ways draws on the big screen movie "Shutter Island" but approaches it in an easy to watch TV movie sort of way, ideal for those who don't want to be forced to concentrate all the time on a movie.

Peter MacNeill in Committed (2011)

As such "Committed" is a simple movie as we are lead to wonder what the truth is? Is Celeste really suffering from the illusion of thinking she is a doctor and is in truth a patient? Maybe someone arranged for her to go there to be kept at bay by Doctors who are doing there job? Or maybe the patients have taken over the asylum as the old saying goes? It means that whilst you can expect some drama and danger towards the end of "Committed" the real entertainment comes from discovering what the situation is. And whilst you might guess what is going on quite quickly it throws in enough red herrings to make you doubt what you first think.

What also goes in the favour of "Committed" is the well chosen cast as not only is Andrea Roth attractive but she is a good actress and does a decent job of delivering Celeste's confusion over what is real and what isn't. But we also have Peter MacNeill as Dr. Quilley and MacNeill has such warmth as an actor, such a gentleness that whilst you wonder about his character you feel wrong to suspect him of being anything other than who he says he is. On the other hand Richard Burgi as Dr. Desmond has this imposing side which jars with his moments of gentleness which makes him quite a threatening and unsettling character. In fairness all the actors including those I haven't mentioned are occasionally prone to over acting but it is what you expect from a TV movie.

What this all boils down to is that "Committed" might not be the honed movie you will see on the big screen but it has a good storyline and a sense of mystery about it which keeps you involved in a need to work out what is exactly what.


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