'Murder in the Vineyard' Review: The riveting ordeal of a mother-daughter duo after they move into a new town
Bullying is a rampant issue prevalent in almost all spaces today. Being the focus of water cooler conversations has egged more people to quit their jobs than an overbearing work environment could do. Educational institutions are no stranger to this issue. Sometimes things get to a point where parents have pulled their kids out to ensure their sanity and safety. With the advancement of social media and technology, things have gone from bad to worse in a lot of cases and this is where Lifetime's new offering 'Murder in the Vineyards' draws inspiration from.
The central characters of the movie are a mother-daughter duo, Emma (Helena Mattsson) and Beatrice (Emma Fuhrmann) who just moved to a small town after wrapping up their life in the big city. This was Emma's second innings in the city as she was raised there and she made a comeback to take over the family-owned vineyard. She was working towards organizing a gettogether to announce her taking over the reins of the vineyard for which she was busy for days on end. Beatrice had hoped that she'd be able to spend more time with her mother once they moved out of the big city.
However, she too got caught up with her school-life and soon enough she had a small group of friends that she started spending time with. She also caught the fancy of the highly sought-after jock Bryan, inviting the ire of his girlfriend who also happened to be the leader of the cheerleading team and touted as the next homecoming queen. Shortly after, Emma finds herself in a lot of trouble that includes being hazed at a party, and photos of herself in her private space make it to a slam website. To top that, Beatrice has a stalker who is determined to egg her to take a drastic step and Emma does her best to protect her daughter from the danger looming over her.
At first glance, the premise seems very juvenile and something that has been done before, however, the performances by both Fuhrmann and Mattsson bring in a lot of depth to the film. The film also highlights the fear of imminent repercussions faced by the bullies which are a nice touch. There are certain moments when a viewer might experience a disconnect with what's happening in the film and the awkward dialogue delivery at peak moments does serve as a dampener.
However, those moments are very rare in the film that runs for 87 minutes. The background score of the film deserves a special mention and is guaranteed to send a chill down your spine. All in all, the film checks most of the boxes of a great thriller and makes for an entertaining watch.
'Murder in the Vineyard' premieres on Lifetime on Saturday, July 18 at 8 pm ET. The rerun of the film will air on July 19 at midnight and 6 pm ET.