At Risk

Plot synopsis:
Win Garano, an Apache nicknamed "Geronimo", is working for Monique "Money" Lamont in the Boston DA's department. Lamont is running for Governor of Massachusetts using the concept of "at risk" to try to gain votes, saying that everyone is at risk from crime but when she becomes governor it is the criminals who will be at risk. To promote her political campaign she re-opens and assigns Garano to a cold case concerning the murder of a 90-year-old woman 35 years previously, demonstrating to voters that she can clear up old crimes as well as new ones.
Jesus Baptista, a criminal, has recently been acquitted of drug dealing and arson. One evening he goes to Lamont's house and lies in wait for her. At the same time, Garano is visiting his grandmother "Nana", where he sees TV coverage of a press conference called by Lamont, during which she agrees in answer to an aggressive questioner that the investigator on the cold case is called "Geronimo". Upset by this he sends a text to Lamont submitting his resignation but immediately afterwards he receives a text threatening Nana's life unless he drops the case. He changes his mind and calls Lamont to tell her that he wishes to continue the investigation. At this point Baptista snatches Lamont and drags her into the house causing her to drop her mobile. Unable to contact her, Garano drives to her house where a fight ensues, resulting in Baptista being shot dead by Garano. Evidence is discovered that Baptista had apparently been paid to kill Lamont. Facts about the cold case are difficult to find and police corruption is suspected. It then emerges that there is a connection between the murder and the attack on Lamont.

Tags: murder, flashback

Review:
Could have been, would have been, should have been - it definitely wasn't, worth watching.
This is one of two Patricia Cornwell novels to film, i.e.
"At Risk" and "The Front" that feature Andie McDowell as a Boston district attorney and are appearing on one of our lesser cable channels here in New Zealand.
I would agree 100% that this is one of the worst examples of plot, direction, acting, and last but not least the use of schmaltzy music.
It runs throughout the entire film to punctuate almost every scene as a filler or to let you know - hey this is a love scene.
No one as yet has mentioned that Cornwell has a cameo as a waitress.
That must tell you something.
She's not only in the movie business now, she's in the movie.
God forbid.
Obviously she's gathered a huge following through the years and hopes to cash in on it and I can't wait to miss the next one.(I was a great fan in her early writing days mainly because she was living in my hometown of Richmond, Va. and used locales that I knew well.
Since then I've come to prefer British authors of the genre who seem to write better and the TV series that are made from their works are first class.).
not a good career move for McDowell.
This movie seems like it'd have done better as a 1 hour TV flick.
Cut out the gratuitous bits (the hunka-hunka-burning'love footage of the male lead, and other filler stuff, and it might have had some chance of making the viewer think "gee...who dunnit" instead of "gee...is it over yet?" The storyline isn't bad - the bringing back to life a cold case with unexpected results is a decent theme.
But there's just too much stuff in between to create suspense, and none of it adds to either the story or the characters.
Sorry - I actually do like Cornwell's books.
This movie does nothing really to capture what's in them.
I'm giving it the extra star for (yes, paraphrasing joe bob briggs) the shiny pennies fu and the exploding bad rasta fu..
Hell no!.
I love Patricia Cornwell, and I'm grateful to the high heavens that this movie wasn't how I discovered her.
I didn't like this movie.
The novel which I have read for umpteenth times is way better..
awful.
This is truly awful everyone involved should be ashamed of themselves.
The plot is wafer thin, I've read a lot of Patricia Cornwell's stuff and its seems to have been a vanity project for her.
There is however one truly funny bit where there is a full length video within in, with just shots of Win,it brings nothing at all to the story its just thrown in.
The acting if thats what you can call it is some of the worst I have ever seen, especially where Win is trying to cry it made me giggle thats how bad he is.
I can't see anyone wanting this pile of rubbish on their CV.
Avoid at all costs its just not worth your time..
Don't Take Risks With this One-At Risk **1/2.
Andie MacDowell is running for governor of Massachusetts!
She asks a detective to revitalize a 35 year old unsolved case from Tennessee to show the latest techniques that can be used with technology to solve crimes.
Trouble is that she opens a can of worms here and the bodies and the cover-ups really do begin to pile up.Our male hero could certainly be used to star in a biography of the life of President Obama or even former Tennessee Representative Harold Ford.
He looks like a cross between the both of them.Everything fits neatly by the film's end, but it may be just too neat.Diahann Carroll appears as the grandmother to the Obama-Ford look alike.
There is one scene with a pack of dogs that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.MacDowell, as a D.A. attempting to be the governor, shows that women are at a disadvantage when they run for political office.
Perhaps, they should have called in Hillary Clinton as a technical adviser.