Very Cool!!!

Must See Movie...

Absolutely Fantastic

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Never would I have chosen to watch this film. It was on TV, and I gave it a moment. I was intrigued and watched the (majority) remainder of the film. (I don't think I missed much in terms of outset.) This film centres around Gillian, a sexy, slender, young woman. She could get most men and takes full advantage of her assets. However, what lies within her character isn't this liberation of sexuality as a standalone but rather a psychotic individual who is incredibly narcissistic.Throughout the story we delve into Gillian's upbringing; how she uses this as an excuse to justify her evil actions. Yvonne Zima who plays Gillian is mesmerising in her performance of bipolarity. No one could see her evil other than her step-mother (played by Mary- Margaret Humes with aplomb) who puts up with an inordinate amount to her detriment, also eventually an ex who blackmails her. Sure, there'll be many negative verdicts and points made about this film. What grabbed me was the strength of the key performances, and given such a basis (TV movie) how they outshone moot issues of the film. I'm usually quite nit picky regarding lack of sensibilities in plot but in all honesty I didn't even care that denouement was predictable.

What the character portrays is more like borderline personality disorder, not bipolar, and many people with borderline aren't like that, I speak from experience with both. Borderline is a wide range of different symptoms coming from childhood pain, some are more normal and functional, some are less. People who have bipolar are mostly not so violent, just feeling up and being creative, or depressed maybe creative, sensitive, intelligent, sleep issues, sometimes normal. Maybe can have trouble handling their emotions but I think majority do not kill or harm or else the world would be even crazier. I hope many people know that many people who've had bipolar have contributed greatly to humanity in all disciplines. People with borderline are also intelligent, creative, sensitive, etc. They all just need help, understanding, compassion, nonjudgement. Either way, people need to learn and get educated about mental health. It seems horrible to make a movie that is so misinforming. Another comment suggested a disclaimer and educational information aired before and during commercials.

Acclaimed Director Curtis Crawford helms this suspenseful drama that serves as a fine thriller as well as an important cautionary tale. In a superb performance, Yvonne Zima plays a bipolar young woman who acts out her fury upon the rejection of love interests. Shawn Roberts, particularly effective, is the man who meets her online and comes to regret the challenges she presents. The film works on several levels and is an eye opener for the uninformed on all of them. As an exploration of the risks of internet dating it is a powerful statement indeed. The threats inherent in the medium are stunningly demonstrated in some detail. The issue of mental health is sensitively observed and beautifully portrayed. Bipolar Disorder does not necessarily lead to deadly violence and unspeakable rage in relationships but the potential is there. This motion picture serves as a cry for help from the mental health community for more funding for both research and care. However, the drama and suspense drives this film and on that level alone it is a superior production.

"The Girl He Met Online" turned out to be surprisingly engaging even though it was very much to the Lifetime formula - one of those in which Christine Conradt was not involved directly but it's clear the people who were have absorbed her plot templates and situations and know how to crank these things out at least as well as the Old Mistress. The directors (plural) were Curtis Crawford (in previous productions he's been Curtis James Crawford) and Anthony Lefresne (though CRAWFORD's name was in BIG LETTERS across the screen and Lefresne's was in tiny type below it) and the credited writer was David DeCrane, but overall it's pretty much a chip off the old Christine Conradt block. When the movie starts we see the girl some poor sap is going to meet online, Gillian Casey (played by Yvonne Zima as a blonde, though otherwise with the same kewpie-doll appeal of Rose MacGowan in the first "Devil in the Flesh" movie from 1998 and Jodi Lyn O'Keefe in the 2000 sequel), trashing the home of her previous boyfriend, spray-painting everything in sight she can't render totally nonfunctional (like his TV - she sprays the letters "TV" behind where it used to be - and his stereo). We get the point immediately: this is a girl that doesn't take rejection well.What's most interesting about "The Girl He Met Online" is that David DeCrane gives Gillian such a hellish background - her real parents died in a car accident when her age was still in the low single digits, and she and her sister Bethany (Tara Spencer-Nairn) were adopted by Agatha Casey (Mary-Margaret Humes), who made it clear to Gillian throughout her childhood that she never loved or cared about her and the only reason she adopted her was she wanted to raise Bethany and the adoption agency insisted that the sisters come as a package deal. Gillian has literally slept her way into a nice job as receptionist with an OB-GYN, Dr. Harris Kohling (Gary Hudson), who insists on her performing sexual services for him whenever his wife is out of town, which seems to be a lot. But that hasn't stopped her from trying to land a rich guy whom she can get to marry her and Take Her Away from All That. Her current target is Andy Collins (Shawn Roberts, at least marginally cuter than most of Lifetime's leading men), who works for a software company founded by his father and managed since dad's death by his mom Susan (Caroline Redekopp), and whose sister Heather (Samantha Madely) is also a major player in the firm. Most of the film is taken up by Gillian's intense pursuit of Andy and her ability to look normal and even genuinely charming when she's on her best behavior, though as the plot progresses the obstacles start to trip her up and writer DeCrane seems to go out of his way to put Gillian in contact with people who can expose the worst sides of her character.What I liked about "The Girl I Met Online" was the writing of Gillian's character - though Curtis Crawford and Anthony Lefresne are hardly in Alfred Hitchcock's league as masters of suspense (nor is DeCrane anywhere nearly as good as the writers Hitchcock used), they do manage to play the double game Hitchcock pulled off in a number of his films: making the villain, if not sympathetic, at least attractive and put-upon enough we're kept hoping he - or, as here, she - will get away with it even as we know his or her actions are evil and she deserves arrest and punishment.