False Pretenses
False Pretenses
| 25 October 2004 (USA)
False Pretenses Trailers

Falling victim to a glib con artist named Michael (Stewart Bick), Texas housewife Diane (Peta Wilson) loses all her money, a disaster that drives her husband Randal (Anthony Lemke) to suicide. Unable to get justice through the official channels, Diane mounts her own plan of revenge. This involves assuming a new identity, trading in her blonde tresses for a redheaded "do", moving to a small town, and systematically seducing the man who ruined her life. One of six "no frills" TV movies produced in Canada for the Lifetime cable network at a flat cost of 2 million each,

Reviews
Kattiera Nana

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

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SunnyHello

Nice effects though.

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SteinMo

What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

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Ortiz

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

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juneebuggy

I caught this on the W network the other night and stuck with it because I was such a huge fan of 'La Femme Nikita' back in the day and Peta Wilson plays the vengeful wife here. She spends the movie seeking revenge against a con artist who finagled her husband out of all of their money, an event that later prompts him to commit suicide.I'll be honest, this is not a great movie even for Lifetime. The acting is okay but it feels kinda choppy and rushed (Wilson's character didn't appear to mourn her husband at all before she hit the road to revenge) and there's also some with super boring parts involving the "Ponzi scheme". There were a couple twists I didn't see coming towards the end but still a very forgettable movie. 02.14.14

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djderka

Basic story line is a hot babe has a husband who commits suicide because he was swindled in a ponzi scheme. The babe wife decides to try and get even. She even gets a job working for the swindler in the town where he currently resides. The rest is a cat and mouse game often thwarted by a curious cast of characters.HOWEVER, the pacing was off and not up to a higher caliber heist or swindle scheme type movies. View David Mamet, Spanish PRISONER, HOUSE OF GAMES, and others. Or the HEIST with Gene Hackman. The movie needed a more dramatic sound track...more mysterious lighting, tighter pacing, and better cinematography.Lighting was way to Lifetime...no dramatic shadows, and was almost documentary like with actors not up to full par...perhaps the director couldn't bring out the best in each actor.I like the premise, the characters, I bet the book is a better read than the movie. Some of the Lifetime movies are interesting however.And you can always tell those Lifetime movies shot in Canada. They should make one in LA with a good sound track, direction, cast. But their budget is probably a million bucks, so they do the best they can. The stories are interesting tho...usually from paperback novels one can get off a rack, but the 'girl in trouble' is popular during the day and 'bad guy boyfriend' at night on this channel.Yes, I would buy it in a bargain bin...like 2 for $5 Or tape it next time on Lifetime.

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Dark_Raven7000

I saw this movie and it has become one of my favorites.Peta Wilson is one of the most underrated actresses in the world and she's awesome in this movie.Peta is believable as a woman scorned by a con artist who conned her husband who committed suicide.After her husband dies Peta's character travels to another town to find a new life. In the process she comes across the man who conned her husband and decides to make him pay by conning him.If you love La Femme Nikita with Peta Wilson and Roy Dupuis you will love this movie too.If it ever comes out on DVD or goes on sale I will make sure to get more than one copy in case they stop selling it.

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SipteaHighTea

This movie should be shown to people on how scams work particularly the one that the movie is referring to. The movie does an excellent job of how the money is move from one phrase of the operation to another phrase in a well-thought, logical fashion that everyone can follow until it comes to the final end where the victims are finally jig out of their money.The sad thing about this movie is where the local police told the ex-wife that they were not going to do a thing about it because it did not occurred in their area and they have too much crime in their own area to devote the manpower and resources. I guarantee you if someone pull a stunt like that on a law enforcement agency, the cops would spare no effort, time, and resources to bring the criminal to justice because cops do not like being made fools. Sometimes, it seems that the police need to become victims in order to get their butts moving because then they know what it is like to be a victim of white collar crime.

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