This is without a doubt the most horrifying story of domestic abuse I have ever seen. As another reviewer commented, this is definitely not a movie for the fainthearted, but it was very well acted and the story was very moving and disturbing.
It is a true story. Tracey Thurman is an abused wife and the police are less than enthusiatic about protecting her from her husband. Unlike some abused women she finally does leave and get a restraining order against him. This leads to the violent confrontation that is a main theme of the movie.
POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD--depends on what you know about the case!
The scene of Buck's final, near fatal attack on Tracey is extremely violent and a almost TOO long. Buck Thurman chases Tracy down, throws her to the ground and stabs her repeatedly. As she lays helpless on the ground, he kicks her, jumps on her head and screams at her that she MADE him do all this, its all her fault (isn't that what the abuse always says)--stopping a couple of times and wandering a few feet away only to return and continue his attack. During this time, a police officer stands there, and as he says later "I continued to observe the situation". The only action he takes during the attack is to try and restrain the boyfriend (maybe husband?) of Tracey's friend when he attempts to aid her and picking up Buck's dropped knife and locking it in the trunk of his car. The only reaction we see from him is when Buck attempts to grab his son--then the officer rouses himself a bit.
It is this handling of the attack that leads Tracey to sue the police department on the grounds that they failed to offer her equal protection under the law.
SPOILERS END
It is a true story. Tracey Thurman is an abused wife and the police are less than enthusiatic about protecting her from her husband. Unlike some abused women she finally does leave and get a restraining order against him. This leads to the violent confrontation that is a main theme of the movie.
POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD--depends on what you know about the case!
The scene of Buck's final, near fatal attack on Tracey is extremely violent and a almost TOO long. Buck Thurman chases Tracy down, throws her to the ground and stabs her repeatedly. As she lays helpless on the ground, he kicks her, jumps on her head and screams at her that she MADE him do all this, its all her fault (isn't that what the abuse always says)--stopping a couple of times and wandering a few feet away only to return and continue his attack. During this time, a police officer stands there, and as he says later "I continued to observe the situation". The only action he takes during the attack is to try and restrain the boyfriend (maybe husband?) of Tracey's friend when he attempts to aid her and picking up Buck's dropped knife and locking it in the trunk of his car. The only reaction we see from him is when Buck attempts to grab his son--then the officer rouses himself a bit.
It is this handling of the attack that leads Tracey to sue the police department on the grounds that they failed to offer her equal protection under the law.
SPOILERS END