|
TV Show Reviews
"Abducted:
The Carlina White Story" review by Suzanne
Premieres October 6 8:00 pm on Lifetime
I really enjoyed this story, even though it was very sad.
This woman, Ann, who is upset after losing her third baby,
steals another woman's child. She raises her for 20+
years, and the girl has her own baby, before the real mother
finds them. It's such a sad story that the woman and her
daughter lost all those years.
Even though the movie is called "The Carlina White
story", we see most of the movie about the kidnapper, Ann.
She is a sad, pathetic person without much love in her life,
but she's also not only a kidnapper, but a thief and a liar,
and someone who has a hard time taking any responsibility
for the things she's done. She's just not a good
person, even though apparently she was not too bad of a mom
to Carlina, whom she names Nedra.
Carlina's parents, Joy and Carl, not only lose their
daughter but break up and have separate families with other
people. At least they are able to go to college and have
more children, but it's still very sad, what they went
through.
The performances are excellent! Aunjanue Ellis is
fabulous as Ann Pettway, the kidnapper. If you remember her
from her other roles, she is almost unrecognizable here
without the usual beautiful hair and makeup, since she's the
villain and also poor. Sherri Shephard plays Joy very
well. Keke Palmer plays Carlina very well, and Roger Cross
plays her dad, Carl. They all do wonderful work, as does
Afton Williamson, who plays Ann's sister. Veteran
actor/director Vondie Curtis Hall did a fine job with the
movie, which also has a very good script.
I think you will enjoy this movie, too! You can't help
but smile when Joy and Carl are reunited with Carlina.
MORE INFORMATION:
We are pleased to be premiering a very special Original movie Abducted: The Carlina White Story on Saturday, October 6 at 8:00PM ET/PT.
Based on a true story, the film takes place in New York where a baby was
kidnapped from Harlem Hospital in 1987. The birth parents never stopped
searching, but it was the "baby" who finally found her birth parents and
was reunited with them in 2011. The woman who abducted Carlina was
sentenced to 12 years in prison last July in a New York court with Joy and
Carl White in attendance.
Aunjanue Ellis (The Help, Missing) stars as Ann Pettway, Keke Palmer (True
Jackson,VP, Joyful Noise) stars as Carlina White and Sherri Shepherd (The
View, 30 Rock) stars as Joy White. Actor Vondie Curtis Hall (Gossip Girl,
The Starter Wife) directed the film with music by Grammy(r) Award-winning
Terrence Blanchard.
In August of 1987, new parents Joy White and Carl Tyson took their 19-day old
daughter Carlina to Harlem Hospital in New York with a high fever. Ann Pettway,
who had suffered a series of miscarriages and was desperate for a child of her
own, posed as a hospital nurse and befriended Carlina’s parents, even offering
to watch over their daughter. But shortly after Carlina was admitted, Pettway
removed the child’s IV line, placed her in an oversized handbag, and walked out
of the hospital with Carlina hidden from view. While Joy and Carl desperately
searched for their daughter over the years, Pettway was raising Carlina as
Nejdra “Netty” Nance in Bridgeport, Connecticut – a mere 45 miles from New York
City. As Carlina grew older she began to suspect Pettway was not her birth
mother and launched her own investigation. After contacting the National Center
for Missing and Exploited Children, Carlina was reunited with her biological
parents in January 2011.
LIFETIME’S ABDUCTED: THE CARLINA WHITE STORY, STARRING
AUNJANUE ELLIS, KEKE PALMER AND SHERRI SHEPHERD, TO PREMIERE
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 6
Movie Based On Headline-Making, Dramatic
True Story of a Young Woman Reunited With Her Biological
Parents 23 Years After She Was Kidnapped
NEW YORK, NY (August 28, 2012) – The
original movie Abducted: The Carlina White
Story, starring Aunjanue Ellis (The
Help), Keke Palmer (True Jackson, VP), and
Emmy® Award winner Sherri Shepherd (The View),
will make its world premiere on Saturday,
October 6, at 8 pm ET/PT on Lifetime. The
film is based on a remarkable true story of the
kidnapping of Carlina White (Palmer), who was abducted
as an infant by Ann Pettway (Ellis) from a New York
hospital and solved her own kidnapping and reunited with
her biological parents 23 years later. The case is
reported to be the first known infant abduction from a
New York hospital. On July 30th of this year, Pettway
was sentenced in a New York court to 12 years in prison
for kidnapping Carlina.
In August of 1987, new parents Joy White (Shepherd)
and Carl Tyson (Roger Cross, 24) took their
19-day-old daughter Carlina to Harlem Hospital in New
York with a high fever. Ann Pettway, who had suffered a
series of miscarriages and was desperate for a child of
her own, posed as a hospital nurse and walked out of the
hospital with Carlina hidden from view. While Joy and
Carl desperately searched for their daughter over the
years, Pettway was raising Carlina as Nejdra “Netty”
Nance in Bridgeport, Connecticut – a mere 45 miles from
New York City. As Carlina grew older she began to
suspect Pettway was not her birth mother and launched
her own investigation. After contacting the National
Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Carlina was
reunited with her biological parents in January 2011.
Immediately following the movie at 10 pm ET/PT,
Lifetime will premiere the hour-long documentary, Beyond
the Headlines: Carlina White, featuring
interviews with Carlina telling her own story, as well
as her birth parents and the family of her kidnapper as
they offer their own perspectives about the case.
In addition to Abducted: The Carlina White Story,
Lifetime will debut the world premiere of its highly
anticipated original movie event Steel
Magnolias, headlined by the all-star cast
of Queen Latifah, Phylicia Rashad, Adepero Oduye,
Condola Rashad, Jill Scott and Alfre Woodard on
Sunday, October 7, at 9pm ET/PT. The
film is executive produced by Craig Zadan, Neil Meron,
Queen Latifah, Shakim Compere and Shelby Stone, and
directed by Kenny Leon.
Abducted: The Carlina White Story is
produced by Pilgrim Studios (Amanda Knox: Murder On
Trial in Italy), with Emmy Award winner Craig
Piligian serving as executive producer. Mary Martin and
Alan Gasmer also are executive producers. Emmy Award
nominated actor/director Vondie Curtis Hall (Silent
Voice, ER, The Shield) is
directing the film, which was written by Elizabeth
Hunter (Jumping the Broom, Sins of The
Mother). Music for the film was composed by
Grammy® Award-winning and Golden Globe®-nominated
composer and musician Terence Blanchard (Red Tails,
25th Hour, Malcolm X).
ABOUT LIFETIME
Lifetime Television is committed to offering the
highest quality entertainment and information
programming, and advocating a wide range of issues
affecting women and their families. The network posted
major growth in viewership among the key demographics in
Second Quarter 2012 versus Second Quarter 2011, posting
a 13% jump among Women 18-49, +5% among Adults 18-49 and
+1% in Women 25-54. Additionally, among Women 18-49,
Lifetime marked the network’s strongest 2Q growth in 10
years. Lifetime Television®, LMN®, Lifetime Real
Women® and Lifetime Digital™ are part of Lifetime
Entertainment Services, LLC, a subsidiary of A+E
Networks. A+E Networks is a joint venture of the
Disney-ABC Television Group and Hearst Corporation.
The opinions in these articles are those of the writer and do not
necessarily reflect the opinions of The TV MegaSite or its other volunteers.
We need more episode guide recap writers, article
writers, MS FrontPage and Web Expression users, graphics designers, and more, so
please email us
if you can help out! More volunteers always
needed! Thanks!
Back to the Main Reviews Page
Page updated 10/2/12
Back to the Main Primetime TV Page
    
|
