I had read the book, and have to say the movie, for the most part, is very similar and is just done very well. Everything from the acting, to the directing etc etc, is superb. This movie is, sadly, a true story. It stands at 4 hours or so but it always keeps your interest. Farrah Fawcett loses herself in her character, and I have to say, I don't see how this movie can be watched, without the watcher coming away with a very healthy respect for Ms. Fawcett.This true life story is so disturbing, the thought has to flash through your mind whether you can sit through a 4 hour drama about it, and although of coarse some scenes are extremely difficult to watch, as you'd expect them to be, this movie is not something you can turn away from once it's on and is both shocking and horrifying.It is directed and acted on a level as good as major big screen releases and the character development is great as well. There isn't one bad piece of acting in the movie and this Is the best I've ever seen Fawcett.

Today, we've been true-crimed to death. Yet, this story was one of the firsts of it's kind and not to mention the best. Akin to Burning Bed, Fawcett rings in an absolute superb performance as she realistically and accurately portrays the sociopath known as Diane Downs. The movie carefully plots the turn of events without over dramatizing. The moving portrayal of Christie Downs (known as Karen Downs in the series) is quite haunting. Many true crime dramas leave me with a taste of ratings-desperation in my mouth. The focus of these are not feelings but instead dramatic effects. This series however was much different. What you find here is Diane's self-centeredness and apparent inability to feel sorrow contrasted with a child who, even without speaking, manages to convey a fear of her mother as well as true love for her in a very tender heart wrenching way. While this description may very well sound overly dramatic it truly isn't. This is just such a well made series. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

I was drawn to watching this TV film as seeing the main actors were Farrah Fawcett and Ryan O'Neal, I was misguided into thinking it would be a good evening's viewing.I say that, not because either of these actors played their parts badly; indeed, O'Neal only has a rather small part. Having such good actors, and John Shea was rather good, it would have been befitting if the film had moulded itself to a different architecture: the so predictable style for television films made all acting concepts be limited to the same formula. Thus, frequently, Ms. Fawcett tended to overact rather than interpret the complicated characteriology of Diane Downs. The unfolding of the story, the telling of it, and the directing was so glued to preset standardised TV formulas, that there was very little any of the actors or anybody else could have done to add more depth and realism to the job. The end result, therefore, is as disappointing as the predictability: unadventurous and trite and no surprises anywhere to help it along.

Here's TV doing true crime the way it should be done--slowly unfolding plot through character, threading the cops and perps stories together, good courtroom drama--it's spellbinding. Farrah Fawcett is exceptional as Diane Downs, the woman who manages to kill one out of three kids. The two surviving kids are also stand-outs, especially the small daughter who must choose whether or not to testify against the monstrously narcissistic Downs. John Shea is also good as the D.A. A must-see for crime buffs.