CLEVELAND ABDUCTION

US, 2015, 88 minutes, Colour.
Taryn Manning, Raymond Cruz, Katie Sarife, Samantha Droke, Pam Grier, Joe Morton.
Directed by Alex Kalymnios.

Cleveland abduction is based on a true story. It focuses on Michelle Knight who was abducted in 2002 by Ariel Castro in Cleveland, Ohio. She was imprisoned in his house for 11 years. Early in those years, Castro also abducted Amanda Berry, with whom he had a child, and Gina de Jesus.

This is a television film for the American channel, Lifetime, whose films are generally geared towards the very broad audience and do not receive much critical acclaim.

It is very difficult to find a balance in a film is made based on true stories of abduction and sexual violence. Many think it is rather prurient of audiences to watch this kind of film, indulging in curiosity, some vicarious thrills. On the other hand, audiences see reports of such crimes on television, the radio, read newspapers and magazines. One of the functions of a well-made film is that it dramatises how such crimes could be committed, something of the psychology of the behaviour of the criminals, the effect on victims.

While this film has some graphic detail, at least for television audiences, of the abduction, the imprisonment of Michelle Knight, the brutal treatment as well as the introduction of the other two young women, the latter part of the film spends a lot of time on the women growing up, Amanda Berry’s little girl and her growth within this house, the strange phenomenon of the door left open and the appeal of the women to strangers who call the police and rescue them. A lot of time is given to Michelle Knight being in hospital, her recovery, the desire to see her child, police investigations but the decision that it was not appropriate for her to meet her son. This means that by the end of the film, the abduction sequences are in proportion to the rescue and rehabilitation, giving a more balanced picture for the audience.

Taryn Manning gives an interesting performance, beginning as an awkward, almost illiterate teenager (who has given birth to a child to whom she is devoted with flashbacks throughout her imprisonment highlighting her love for her son). As her internment continues, she grows up, helps the other two young women, especially resuscitating the child after its birth, and then a more mature woman, getting back to health, some psychological balance, and finally the words of her testifying at Ariel Castro’s court case.

One of the horrors of the story is that it all took place in a suburban street in Cleveland, with Castro having his brothers over for visits, other friends, musical sessions. Raymond Cruz has the unenviable task of bringing Castro to life, his initial charm, offering to take Michelle to a hearing into the custody of her child, promising a puppy to take to her son. She is interned, hanging above the floor, the light shut out of the room, subjected to physical brutality, being tied up, chained, as well as sexually abused. She is presented as a woman of faith and belief in God.

This film is based on her own version of this story, emphasising her internment but bringing together the other women, their fears, the exploitation, their eventually becoming something of a family, especially as Amanda Berry’s little girl grows up, finds a place with her mother and her aunties, has to deal with her father’s strict injunctions not to go out.

In the latter part of the film, there is a focus on Michelle in hospital, the slow recovery, and not wanting to see her mother who had left the town, her pleas to see her son, the police, in the form of Joe Morton, reassuring her but eventually having to break the news that the adoptive parents want no contact.

This kind of film is uncomfortable to watch. It is probably the equivalent of articles in a newspaper or magazine or television documentary or special. But it does raise issues and dramatises something of the reality, within only 88 minutes.

The director is British and has directed quite a number of British television series including Eastenders.