Mrs. Shawnessy
After being attacked and almost raped by her boss and his son at the bar where she worked Liddy Carlyle (Tracey Gold) finds herself on the run having attacked them with a knife. It is whilst trying to travel West she gets a lift from newlyweds Sean (Nathan Anderson) and Catherine (Michelle Jones) who are returning home to see Sean's mother Maureen Shawnessy (Dee Wallace) and father Donald (Kevin Dobson) only for them all to end up in a car crash. When Liddy comes around she is in hospital with Maureen and Donald standing over her and calling her Catherine. It seems that the real Catherine and also Sean died in the crash although the car and bodies ended up in a river and never found.
"J'ai épousé une ombre", "Mrs. Winterbourne" and "No Man of Her Own"; they are just three movies which come to mind when watching "She's No Angel" as each feature a young woman who ends up taking on the identity of a dead woman and living with the woman's in-laws who are dealing with the loss of their son at the same time due to an accident. And of course she ends up becoming attracted to a friend of the family whilst having to deal with a skeleton in her closet as she pretends to be Catherine whilst trying to avoid being found out. Of course what this really means is that those who are familiar with the storyline having seen it used elsewhere are likely to find this lacking where for others it will be interesting.
The thing is that whilst "She's No Angel" is interesting as we watch Liddy trying to keep up the pretence and cover up the truth. But what I wouldn't call "She's No Angel" is entertaining as it is a slow movie and that gives it a feel of being drawn out. Maybe that is down to the movie's familiarity that for me it ended up a procession to an inevitable conclusion but considering the talented cast they end up sadly under utilised in forgettable characters.
What this all boils down to is that "She's No Angel" is simply one of those movies which if you are familiar with the basic storyline is going to end up a slow walk through to an inevitable conclusion. But at the same time I know for those who are not familiar with the basic storyline should find it at least interesting.
