Customer Reviews

Torso

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

You would be hard pressed to identify this as a made-for-television movie. The cinematography and production design are superior to most theatrical features (angular and overhead camera shots, tight shots on Kathleen Robertson, period costuming and good sets). It really transports the viewer back to 1940's Ontario. They paid attention to the details and put serious money into creating a stylish stage on which Robertson turns in a truly fine performance.

She plays a young woman from a horribly abusive family; and what with the flashbacks she convincingly plays herself from about age 13 to age 26 (in fact the flashback to her at age 13 is the most convincing scene in the film). Under a cynical veneer is someone so scarred that she cannot really defend herself against two murder charges, but with the cool elliptical storytelling technique it is some time before the viewer understands the whole dynamic. The film is really about peeling back her protective layers. Instead of a traditional narrative about a character undergoing changes, what changes here is not the character but the viewer's perception of the character.

Robertson was born for this role. I have generally liked her in other stuff but have felt a bit uneasy-when she smiles it seems like she is conning me. This works against her in "good girl" roles ("Maniac Mansion" and "Splendor") but could actually work for her in "bad girl" roles. And it certainly does here where her character is as ambiguous as any you are likely to find.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

Just saw the Canadian film "Torso: The Evelyn Dick Story" on the Lifetime Channel and loved it. While I was watching it, I had little or no sense that I was watching a made-for-TV movie, so good were the sets, costumes, and production values. I was hooked from beginning to end, sucked in by the fascinating story of a 1940s Canadian murder case with which I was completely unfamiliar.

The always elegant Victor Garber, a native Canadian whose performance as ship's designer Thomas Andrews in "Titanic" was so memorable, is wonderful in "Torso: The Evelyn Dick Story" as the insightful Canadian attorney J.J. Robinette, who shouldered Evelyn Dick's cause when no one else would touch it and managed to save her life against all odds. Legendary Irish stage and screen veteran Brenda Fricker ("My Left Foot," "Veronica Guerin") turns in a chilling and masterful performance here as the lethal matriarch pimping out her daughter Evelyn to upper crust Canadians in 1940s Ontario.

The true revelation for me, however, is Kathleen Robertson as Evelyn Dick. I've had no real exposure to Robertson's work before seeing this film, but a perusal of her filmography indicates that she deserves a much better chance to shine than she's had in her previous films. She certainly does shine in this one, her stunning physical beauty by no means her only asset. She manages to understand and capture Evelyn Dick's slippery character on every conceivable level and imbues her with a poignant depth that inspires compassion and revulsion in equal measure.

Kathleen Robertson, incidentally, is a native of Hamilton, Ontario, where the woman she portrays in this film, Evelyn Dick, was brought to trial for murder 60 years ago in 1946/1947. Elizabeth Short, better known as the Black Dahlia, was discovered murdered in Los Angeles in January 1947 during the course of Evelyn Dick's trial(s). Since then, the mystery of who killed the Black Dahlia has seized the public's imagination worldwide, whereas the mystery of who killed Evelyn Dick's husband seems to have garnered much less publicity. Both cases, however, are equally fascinating, albeit for different reasons.

Despite its clumsy and thoroughly regrettable title, "Torso: The Evelyn Dick Story" has much to commend it. In addition to the film's impressive performances from Garber, Fricker, and Robertson, it displays keen devotion to exploring the domestic hell in which Evelyn Dick was raised and of which she was a product, implying that, if anyone "made" Evelyn Dick a "loose woman" or a murderer, it would have been those horrendous parents of hers.

The answer to who shot and dismembered Evelyn's hapless husband back in 1940s Canada -- Evelyn herself, one or both of her parents, one of her lovers, or some/all of them in collusion -- is still a mystery to me after seeing this film and inspires me to seek out the only book that seems to be available on the subject, "The Torso Murder: The Untold Story of Evelyn Dick" (2001). Its Canadian author, Brian Vall?e, appears to have been associated with a made-for-CTV documentary called "The Notorious Mrs. Dick," not to be confused with the feature-length film "Torso: The Evelyn Dick Story" reviewed here.

Can't wait to read the book. At least two of the real culprits in this case got clean away with murder, seems to me, and the worst of them never served a day in jail!

Set in 1940s Hamilton Ontario, I thought this flick did a great job of telling the tragic story of intruige surrounding the Evelyn Dick murder trial. I thought the acting, especially by Fricker, was very good and particularly enjoyed the period setting, lighting, and music.

Although a lot of the details of this true crime story is lacking, there is much to the character of Evelyn, obviously mistreated by her parents and brainwashed, she was a playthign for the rich to please her parents who then pinned a murder on her. It's a sad piece of history and the costume designs are wonderful on the Canadian actress who played Evelyn. I've watchedit everytime it's come one, because I think the characters are so interesting, especially if you lie true crime, also see Heavenly Creatures.

This is based on a true story from Canada, and it is very well done. You do actually get into the mind of the main character a bit, and see how she could very easily have committed the murders. Still, no one has ever been convicted of her husband's death. Kathlees Robertson, however, is absolutely wonderful. She is a very lovely woman, but I was not really impressed until I saw her in "Tin Man". She is a good actress, but she is especially great at playing evil or misunderstood evil characters. This is a good movie and well worth watching.

Torso: The Evelyn Dick Story (Alex Chapple, 2002)

First and foremost: Torso has nothing to do with the infamous Torso Killer of 1940s Cleveland (and, possibly, 1940s Hollywood). If you're looking for tantalizing Black Dahlia/Elliot Ness conspiracy theory, this is not up your alley. What it is is an isolated case (some Canadian journalist probably caught the Torso Killer headlines and decided they would make good copy for the Dick case) set in Canada just after World War II. Evelyn Dick (Kathleen Robertson of 90210)'s very wealthy husband turns up quite dead, and Dick and various of her family members are the prime suspects. The movie focuses on the courtroom drama of Dick's two trials, and the odd relationship between Dick and her bulldog lawyer, J. J. Robinette (Victor Garber [Alias]).

For a made-for-TV movie, this thing has a seriously high-powered cast and an above-average level of tension. But then, television has always lent itself to courtroom drama better than the big screen has, for some reason (witness the recent made-for-TV adaptations of Twelve Angry Men and Inherit the Wind, both of which are more than capable retellings of the original films). There is certainly quite a bit to recommend this little film, even if I did pick it up by accident, hoping for those Black Dahlia/Elliot Ness conspiracies.

The DVD was great. It was not defective in any way. Amazon.com is a trusted website for transactions. I loved the movie. The beautfiul Evelyn Dick was on trial for the murder of her husband-then her baby boy's murder. That was one sensational trial. The reason the trial was so sensational was because Evelyn was beautiful and due to what she was known for: having a myriad of lovers. Evelyn Dick is wondered about greatly nowadays. WHERE IS SHE?? What is she doing now? What's life like out of the public eye (the world's eye)?

daughter has been trying to get this dvd she said to say thanks.its a must have for any eveyln dick fan...

I am a Kathleen Robertson fan since Maniac Mansions. Accordingly, any revue from me would be unduly biased.

So I go to the video store, looking for some Italian gore movies. I come across Torso. I remember hearing about it, so I buy it used (the slip thing with the covers was missing, with Torso simply written on the front in red, so it was real cheap). I go home, put it in the DVD player, and guess what comes on? This awful piece of TV movie garbage. It starts stupid, it ends stupid, it lacks a point, intresting writing, original (or at least different) direction, and sub-par acting. I was mad, and the store only gave me 1/4 of what I paid for it. To quote Hank Hill: "Dang it". Truer words were never spoken.