Cradle of Lies

By Sal Duncan

Cradle of Lies is the story of a middle-aged woman looking to find herself on a solo ski vacation only to find true love after an unfortunate purse-snatching incident, and this all takes place in the first 15 minutes. The true genius of Lifetime movies is that you really only need one element to make them a success: drama. Everything else that you learned watching good movies is thrown out the window. Absolutely nothing else really needs to make sense as long as it loosely resembles something that you may have seen on TV at any time in history. So back to this gripping thrill ride....

One can only assume why Hayley (played by Shannon Sturges) is single, mostly because this information is never revealed in the plot, but on the other hand here you have a moderately successful 40-something whiner who complains about everything, and let's face it, who wouldn't want to spend the rest of eternity with her? Anyway, as previously mentioned, she attempts to discover her soul (or something) while taking a ski trip by herself. While sitting at the bar her purse gets stolen simply by someone walking up and taking it. Enter the hero, Jack Collins (it took a board room full of writers to come up with just his name) who makes a half-assed attempt to run after the thief only to return empty handed and thereby literally charm the pants off Hayley after several martinis. The Awkward chemistry and sudden change in emotion led me to believe that there was more to this purse-snatching than meets the eye, but I was wrong. Thus began my lesson in Lifetime logistics, those were mere weak plot points and bits of overacting. In any case, after about 48 hours of quality time together, Jack (played by Dylan Neal) pops the big question, and instead of seeing the giant red flag in front of her, Hayley acts like any other woman would and decides that this is the most romantic moment of her life and accepts the offer. Did I mention that Jack is an attorney? So, we are all set with our story and are left wondering what danger lies around the corner because, let's face it, it's implied in the title.

Now, Life is just glorious. Hayley has the perfect husband, and the perfect home, and what better way to add to their utopian lifestyle than to have... a kid? Now, Jack doesn't beat around the bush (no pun intended) when it comes to kids. He wants a boy, and this point is driven home many, many times....so much so that the moment Hayley announces she is pregnant, Jack asks her if it's a boy. Did I mention that Jack is an attorney? Along for the ride is Jacks younger, hotter secretary, Michelle (Natalie Brown) whose character has no business being in the movie other than to just be an evil piece of ass. As the story unfolds, you may find yourself asking why Jack just didn't marry her instead, but don't worry about that, the writers sure as hell didn't.

We've only begun to scratch the surface on this riveting piece of cinema. Sexual deviance, betrayal, money, and greed are only a few of the elements woven in this tale of seduction, whether or not you chose to go along for the ride is up to you. But rest assured, if you're feeling like a Lifetime movie, Cradle will not disappoint.