"You Can't Escape Me"

One of the very few LMN movies I've rated above 3 - other than the true crime ones which are usually very good.

Very few complaints with this as for the most part, it was well done. In a nutshell: unknown artist marries guy she's only known 6 months, and she soon finds out he's insanely possessive, jealous, and abusive. He ruins her one chance at her first gallery showing of her paintings due to his crazed jealousy over the gallery owner. So she ends up at an old friend's place in another state and starts a new life with a fake name, including self defense training in case he finds her and forces her to go back to LA with him against her will..

Main complaint: it might sound petty, but couldn't they have found an actor who was at least as tall as she was and not so thin and young-looking to play her new boyfriend? He was horribly miscast. An environmental lawyer? He looked more like a senior in high school. They didn't look right together at all.

Alex Trumble, who played the husband, is becoming one of the Lifetime regulars. I've seen him in a few other LMNs, playing both the villain and the sweet normal guy. He does well at both and he's actually good-looking too, unlike so many other Lifetime male leads.

Not bad, for a run of the mill psycho bad guy vs. Good girl LMN flick. This particular good girl refuses to be the psycho's victim by preparing for their eventual showdown.

Grade B- / 6 out of 10.

We had enjoyed Gina as Willa in "Deadly Girls Night Out" and as Eve in "In Love With My Partner's Wife." As Erin in this movie, Gina does an admirable job, showing a range of emotions. One of the things we liked the most was the scenes where she was working in the gym on self defense. Too many times in LMN movies, when they try to show a game or a sport, it is obvious that the actors portraying the athletes really have no ability in that sport or game. In this case, the scenes were very realistic. One must surmise that Gina is into that action in real life.

Alex Trumble does a credible job as the scumbag, although the bar for being a scumbag is relatively low.

You know that there is going to be a showdown and you are anxious to see the scumbag get his comeuppance. Does he? Watch this interesting movie to find out.

Erin Carver is a talented artist and a decent person who is on the receiving end of domestic abuse from her vile and controlling husband Jared. In college, Erin had two great friends in Susanne and Katie, where they became the three amigas. Now, Susanne and Katie come to the assistance of Erin in her quest to escape from her husband.

It was a stretch on the part of the filmmakers to imply that because Jared was an attorney, he could manipulate the legal system and control the police to prevent Erin from reporting him, filing a restraining order, and taking him to court for physical abuse. It was also unsettling that Erin would flee to the home of her neighbor Polly after being attacked and punched by her husband, only to have Polly phone Jared instead of phoning the police. What a neighbor!!!

Erin flees from L. A. to Portland, but Jared keeps tabs on her through a private investigator. It was surprising that Katie was so gullible that she fell for the private eye and believed that Jared was remorseful.

The film focused on the support Erin received from Cassie, the kind owner of a gym, who offered Erin instruction in self-defense. The scenes where Erin was training and the skills she acquired were extremely credible.

In the end, the film was successful in raising awareness about domestic violence. It also demonstrated the power of a support system, including the nice environmental attorney Miles, that enabled Erin to cope while living in purgatory and constantly sleeping with one eye open due to the horrors of patriarchy.