The Parenting Wagon
Christina Kinsey's (Susan Dey) life was dominated by drugs, she would smoke a spliff on her way to work and when she got there would sneak off to the bathroom to do a line with a colleague. But then she discovers she is pregnant and whilst she intends to get clean she just can't with her friends offering her drugs and her alcoholic mother in denial over her problems. Then when Christina has problems and her baby is born 2 months prematurely she is forced to confront her addiction as social services are called in and her baby is put in to care, not that easy when those around her selfishly continue to try and encourage Christina to stray.
"Sad Inheritance" which is also known as "Love, Lies & Lullabies" is a fascinating movie which I am sure was intended to be a warning for women who do drugs and are pregnant. It highlights the troubled path from the baby being born prematurely with health issues as well as the work of social services to protect the baby much to the upset of the mother. And as such it shows Christina's battle to turn her life around in order to get her baby back and how hard it is to deal with a situation where someone else is caring for her baby and she has to earn the right to visitation. All of which is effective and watching Christina get on top of her addiction is a pleasure to watch with Susan Dey doing a good job of highlighting the troubles not just in getting clean but also having a child who has problems due to her drug abuse.
But whilst it effectively looks at the journey of a woman battling to get her child back and her life in order it is also a fascinating look at addiction. Watching how Christina tries to get clean but is continually tempted by her friends who don't care is so true to real life. In fact the whole addiction side and how stress pushes you towards taking drugs again is very real. It is this side of the movie which speaks volumes to those who watch this but are not in the pregnancy situation.
There is a lot more to "Sad Inheritance" than just this and includes some other fine performances including Piper Laurie as Christina's alcoholic mother. But it is Lorraine Toussaint as social worker Florence who delivers the most interesting character because on one hand she comes across as cold and tough but you also get a sense that under the cold exterior is a woman who would love to see Christina get her life sorted and baby back.
What this all boils down to is that "Sad Inheritance" is a thoroughly good made for TV movie which looks at various aspects of drug addiction and pregnancy during addiction.
