False Pretenses
False Pretenses
| 25 October 2004 (USA)
False Pretenses Trailers

Falling victim to a glib con artist named Michael (Stewart Bick), Texas housewife Diane (Peta Wilson) loses all her money, a disaster that drives her husband Randal (Anthony Lemke) to suicide. Unable to get justice through the official channels, Diane mounts her own plan of revenge. This involves assuming a new identity, trading in her blonde tresses for a redheaded "do", moving to a small town, and systematically seducing the man who ruined her life. One of six "no frills" TV movies produced in Canada for the Lifetime cable network at a flat cost of 2 million each,

Reviews
GamerTab That was an excellent one.
Inadvands Boring, over-political, tech fuzed mess
Mabel Munoz Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?
Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
juneebuggy I caught this on the W network the other night and stuck with it because I was such a huge fan of 'La Femme Nikita' back in the day and Peta Wilson plays the vengeful wife here. She spends the movie seeking revenge against a con artist who finagled her husband out of all of their money, an event that later prompts him to commit suicide.I'll be honest, this is not a great movie even for Lifetime. The acting is okay but it feels kinda choppy and rushed (Wilson's character didn't appear to mourn her husband at all before she hit the road to revenge) and there's also some with super boring parts involving the "Ponzi scheme". There were a couple twists I didn't see coming towards the end but still a very forgettable movie. 02.14.14
djderka Basic story line is a hot babe has a husband who commits suicide because he was swindled in a ponzi scheme. The babe wife decides to try and get even. She even gets a job working for the swindler in the town where he currently resides. The rest is a cat and mouse game often thwarted by a curious cast of characters.HOWEVER, the pacing was off and not up to a higher caliber heist or swindle scheme type movies. View David Mamet, Spanish PRISONER, HOUSE OF GAMES, and others. Or the HEIST with Gene Hackman. The movie needed a more dramatic sound track...more mysterious lighting, tighter pacing, and better cinematography.Lighting was way to Lifetime...no dramatic shadows, and was almost documentary like with actors not up to full par...perhaps the director couldn't bring out the best in each actor.I like the premise, the characters, I bet the book is a better read than the movie. Some of the Lifetime movies are interesting however.And you can always tell those Lifetime movies shot in Canada. They should make one in LA with a good sound track, direction, cast. But their budget is probably a million bucks, so they do the best they can. The stories are interesting tho...usually from paperback novels one can get off a rack, but the 'girl in trouble' is popular during the day and 'bad guy boyfriend' at night on this channel.Yes, I would buy it in a bargain bin...like 2 for $5 Or tape it next time on Lifetime.
Dark_Raven7000 I saw this movie and it has become one of my favorites.Peta Wilson is one of the most underrated actresses in the world and she's awesome in this movie.Peta is believable as a woman scorned by a con artist who conned her husband who committed suicide.After her husband dies Peta's character travels to another town to find a new life. In the process she comes across the man who conned her husband and decides to make him pay by conning him.If you love La Femme Nikita with Peta Wilson and Roy Dupuis you will love this movie too.If it ever comes out on DVD or goes on sale I will make sure to get more than one copy in case they stop selling it.
caa821 I'm a little surprised there are no comments for this film. Perhaps it hasn't been shown as much previously as would be assumed, although made three years ago.It showed recently on a weekday, when I ordinarily would not have been watching TV, much less "Lifetime." But every so often, doing some business with European colleagues, I have to be on the phone dealing with some customer emergency from, say, back and forth between 7 and ll a.m. there - which is midnight to 4 a.m. my time. On some days following, I might "veg out" for a couple of hours when I ordinarily wouldn't, and just flip on the set. That's what happened just as this film began, and I became interested as I got into it. I knew nothing of Peta Wilson, never having seen her "... Nikita" program, or any of the other thespians.But for some reason, I found it far more engrossing and interesting than typical TV flicks. She presented an attractive, likable presence, and the other characters were more believable than you'd expect. Even the "bad guys" weren't the over-the-top type normally found.Of course, it took a major!!! coincidence for the crux of the story to unfold, but it wasn't completely unbelievable. It occurs in Midland TX (I don't recall if the location from which she traveled to reach there - her original home city - was identified, or the distance implied). Locations for this film aren't shown in this site, but I'd wager my net worth it's probably Vancouver, B.C. It seems all "Lifetime" flicks are now made there - and it would probably be wise to invest in stocks of firms with hotels and restaurants there, simply on the basis of "Lifetime movie" casts and crews which have to be visiting the area at any given time. ***Minor spoiler***Peta's character leaves town, and her previously yuppie life after her husband commits suicide following being swindled by a slick con artist "investment guru." Her auto breaks-down in Midland (again, only by pure chance) and she remains there in order to be able to get work to pay for car repairs - for which the shop owner trusts her. She cuts her flowing "red tresses" to a shorter, blonde style (meant as a symbol of her life's change, and now also Ms. Wilson's usual look). With her long fiery red hair now short and blonde, when she bumps into the con man, there is no disbelief when he doesn't recognize her. She had seen him just one time, briefly - but as the instrument of her beloved husband's demise, she recognizes him immediately. Obviously she cannot help but think of how she can use this chance occurrence to gain revenge and retribution. This is a film where you have a pretty good sense of the direction it will take, and even possible twists which may evolve. But, again, unlike most of these films, you're not entirely certain, and there are still surprises along the way.And best of all, the ending flows comfortably with the preceding events in the story - without unbelievable chases, knife wieldings, shootouts and the frequent, excessive histrionics films of this genre often present.I'd even provide it a "9,'" considering the genre, the way the story was presented, and the engaging lead and good supporting cast.A good film which seems to have slipped "under the radar."••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••Caught this film again, by pure chance, a bit over a year after seeing first. Enjoyed it a second time, and find my opinion did not change at all from what I entered last year.