Disappointing and not believable. These type of fiction movies are supposed to have some semblance of yes it could happen in a marriage but this did not come close and the acting was poor by all characters. The Lifetime movies of the late 90's to early 2000's were better.

"Marriage of Lies" (a.k.a., "Presumed Guilty") tells the story of a popular teacher and upstanding member of the community who goes missing. Tye Wilson appears at the outset to be a loving husband. But the initial signs point to his wife Rachel involved in foul play in the disappearance of her husband. The two major questions that drive the film are (a) where and (b) who is Tye Wilson?

The film is successful in setting up a wide range of suspects who may have knowledge of the fate of Tye Wilson. The film's opening scene is a teaser that apparently shows a bloodied Tye being held hostage. His loving wife Rachel, who has suffered from post-partum psychosis, begins to rely too heavily on the toxic mix of wine and her anti-depressants. But, led by a posse of voracious local journalists, the public and the police believe the evidence points to some degree of culpability in Rachel.

But other characters who are suspicious are young Kinna, who is posting enough photos on the internet to demonstrate her obsession about Tye. There is also the sultry realtor Alexa, who had an affair with Tye, resulting in a restraining order against Rachel. There is Rachel's attorney Dylan, who knew Rachel in the past and seems a little too affectionate to his client. There is also Rachel's best friend Jessica, who, at times, who may not seem quite as loyal as Rachel believes.

The two police detectives were a study in contrasts with the older cop Gus the wise old owl who is cautious in his appraisal of facts. But his younger, over-eager counterpart Roper is clearly motivated by a rush to judgment to arrest Rachel. Another interesting character is the gossipy neighbor DeeDee, who is all too willing to dish the dirt and influence the direction of the case. A snarky photo-journalist tries to cozy up to the police and harass Rachel, in order to get a scoop.

It appeared as though the actress playing Rachel was directed to perform the role with great understatement. It was surprising both to the detectives and to the audience that Rachel never showed much emotion about her missing husband. Was there something subliminal at work in Rachel's psyche that actually welcomed the vanishing of the mysterious Mr. Tye Wilson?

The production values in this film are almost at a high school level. Pay attention to the detectives' 'office'. It's obviously an empty room with a few card tables and a computer. There's even a lone large target on a wall to make it look 'official'. Ditto the bar which is probably a nearby motel's watering hole. There's awful stuff like this all over the movie. I swear the final scene was shot on a high school auditorium stage. It was laughable. And the plot? Ridiculous. The reactions to revelations? There are none. Here's an example, the wife of the missing person goes to the high school where he works. The principal informs her that her husband didn't show up for work and that the principal just assumed that he was too ill to come in. After the wife says that her husband was feeling fine the principal says, 'tell him we hope he's feeling better real soon.' There's nonsense like that all through this thing. Some of the acting is so bad that you'll think it's intentional. The junior DA and the school janitor are particularly awful.

So, why not a '1'? Because the lead actress has stunning eyes. And that's all this bomb has going for it.