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Lifetime Review: 'Deadly Assistant'

Grief, family drama, and murder mix together into a dramatic and fairly entertaining combo in this Lifetime thriller.

By Trevor WellsPublished 5 years ago 5 min read
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Following the loss of their parents and her accusation of infidelity against her husband, Amanda Birch (Jeannette Sousa) has found herself estranged from her sister, Lauren (Kate Gilligan), who has taken over and revitalized the wellness center their parents started. Upon returning home, however, Amanda finds herself being warmly greeted back by Lauren, along with Lauren's son Charlie (Keenan Tracey) and her dedicated assistant Maya (Breanne Hill), who is also Charlie's girlfriend.

Shortly after her arrival, however, Amanda finds herself at the center of more family drama when Lauren announces she wants Amanda to become her new work partner with the wellness center, much to the dismay of her husband Ian (Philip Boyd), who not only still holds a grudge against Amanda for damaging his marriage, but blames her for Charlie's past drug addictions that started shortly after she left town. Things come to a head, however, during the reopening ceremony, which has Lauren unexpectedly collapse and die of heart failure during her speech.

Heartbroken and now at further odds with Ian, Amanda is unwilling to accept her sister's untimely death as natural, and after detective Josh Stone (Houston Rhines) reveals a foreign substance found in Lauren's system may have led to the heart failure, Amanda becomes intent on finding her sister's killer. But as she delves further into the investigation, her fractured relationships buckle under the strain, while her attempts to find justice for Lauren might just come at a steep price...

For many Lifetime fans, high-octane melodrama and thrills is what keeps them coming back to the channel for their original thrillers. Many Lifetime movies, in fact, appear to be tailor-made for that kind of viewing experience, and in regards to Deadly Assistant (originally titled by MarVista Entertainment as Poisonous Protege), there are certainly moments to be found that will appeal to that niche. But as a whole, the film aims to be more than just an entertaining murder-mystery thriller, and thanks to a strong script and cast, succeeds in doing so for the most part.

Before the murder-mystery elements of Deadly Assistant kick in, the movie introduces us to what will be a recurring source of conflict throughout the film: Amanda's disconnect from her family following her abrupt departure, as well as the accusation that put Lauren and Ian's marriage in hot water. The sense of unspoken tension and and familial discord is present in many crucial scenes centered on the Birch family, particularly the intense dinner scene, where Lauren announcing she wants to partner with Amanda for the center—much to the anger of Ian, embittered by Amanda's past actions. Lauren's death only further puts Amanda and Ian against each other, with Jeannette Sousa and Philip Boyd bringing authentic emotion that effectively develop Amanda and Ian's history as estranged in-laws.

Sousa serves as a sympathetic and likable protagonist throughout the film, going through Amanda's various emotional cycles with fluidity and poignancy, balancing her grief for her sister and her struggles to reconnect with her family in equal doses. Boyd also works to give Ian's brash temper and embittered attitude towards Amanda depth by showing how it comes from a place of regret and grief, though ultimately, some viewers will have trouble getting past Ian's opening moments of being callous and dismissive of everyone around him—including his own family.

Keenan Tracey and Breanne Hill, however, prove to be knockouts as Charlie and Maya, each for their own reasons. Tracey, being no stranger to the screens of Lifetime, gives a deeply poignant performance as Lauren's troubled but ultimately good-hearted son Charlie, with his grief following his mother's passing being palpable as palpable as his struggles with addiction. Combined, Tracey makes Charlie an instantly sympathetic character, making his being roped into the villain's ruthless plot heartbreaking and stakes raising. Houston Rhines is also likable as investigating detective Stone, but is ultimately not allowed by the story to break past the generic role given to him, with his romantic past with Amanda being dropped almost as soon as it gets introduced.

(Which, in this instance, is particularly weird, since Amanda later refers to Josh by his surname alone, as if he's a stranger rather than a high school friend/beau).

Alternately, Breanne Hill plays dedicated co-worker, Maya, in a subdued way that ultimately works to the movie's favor. Given the title and Lifetime's promos, it's no secret to the audience that Maya is not as wonderful as she appears and has a role in the tragic goings on for the Birches. But as the action unfolds, Hill plays Maya in a way that keeps you guessing as to get just what her endgame will be. Her various connections to the rest of the cast gives her an array of potential motivations, allowing the viewer to wonder just what her ultimate goal in her villainy is—and how far she's willing to go to get it. Maya's moments of condescending concern for the people she's victimizing is well played by Hill, though it is ultimately when her true colors are shown in full force when she truly shines as a villainess.

While Deadly Assistant is aesthetically not much different from other MarVista made Lifetime films, the action being centered on a zen-centric wellness center gives the film a touch of a theme, with the opening, the use of one of Lauren's meditation videos during some emotional scenes with Charlie and Amanda, and the use of that same video's audio during the movie's thrilling climax being excellent examples of this well-done aesthetic. It's a little thing that goes a long way to letting Deadly Assistant stick out from the crowd in a small way.

Despite a few mild flaws, Deadly Assistant serves as an example of what MarVista can do with a strong script and casting. Being a thrilling murder mystery with an emotional family drama at its' center, as well as a nuanced look at a family dealing with grief, Deadly Assistant rises above similar films in the genre and makes itself an easy movie to recommend.

Score: eight out of 10 gongs.

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About the Creator

Trevor Wells

Aspiring writer and film lover: Lifetime, Hallmark, indie, and anything else that strikes my interest. He/him.

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Twitter: @TrevorWells98

Instagram: @trevorwells_16

Email: [email protected]

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