Plain Truth | |
---|---|
Written by | Jodi Picoult |
Screenplay by | Matthew Tabak |
Directed by | Paul Shapiro |
Starring | |
Music by | Yves Laferrière |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Producer | Michael Mahoney |
Cinematography | David Greene |
Editor | Michael Pacek |
Running time | 90 minutes |
Production company | Muse Entertainment Enterprises |
Original release | |
Release | October 4, 2004 |
Plain Truth is a 2004 TV drama directed by Paul Shapiro, starring Mariska Hargitay, Alison Pill and Jan Niklas. The film is based on Jodi Picoult's book Plain Truth , in which an Amish teen hides a pregnancy, gives birth in secret, and then flatly denies it all when the baby's body is found. An urban defense attorney, Ellie Harrison, decides to represent her when she's charged with murder. [1]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (August 2012) |
Katie (Alison Pill) is an 18-year-old girl who lives in a small Amish community in the Pennsylvania farm country. When a newborn baby is found dead, police suspect foul play. Katie is accused of having given birth to the child and then murdering it due to her shame about the baby's illegitimacy. Katie protests her innocence on both charges, and Ellie Harrison (Mariska Hargitay), a tough and well-respected attorney, is brought in to defend her in court. Eventually it is revealed that Katie had conceived the child by a young male academic student whom she had befriended while visiting her excommunicated brother at his college. The baby had been born very sick due to Katie's lifetime practice of drinking unpasteurized milk. It is assumed by the jury and the townspeople that the baby died naturally of its weakened condition shortly after birth, and Katie is declared innocent of all wrongdoing. At the very end of the story, Katie's mother Sarah privately reveals to Ellie that she had known that Katie was pregnant and that she followed her the night that Katie gave birth. Sarah shows Ellie the scissors that had been missing from her husband's barn since that night. The implication is that she used the scissors to cut the umbilical cord, suffocated the baby, and disposed of the body in the pond. Though shocked and horrified at the gaunt older woman's admission, Ellie chooses not to reveal her knowledge to the police. The classic Picoult twist is that after all Ellie had been through trying to get the truth out of Katie, it seems as though Katie had been covering for her mother's murder all along.
Mariska Magdolna Hargitay is an American actress and producer. She is known for playing Olivia Benson on NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999–present), which became the longest-running drama in American prime-time television in 2019. Her portrayal of Olivia Benson is the longest-running character in a prime-time American TV drama, and since 2013, she is among the highest-paid actresses on television. Her accolades for the role include a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and two People's Choice Awards. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2013.
Alison Pill is a Canadian actress. A former child actress, Pill began her career at age 12, appearing in numerous projects before transitioning to adult roles with a breakthrough role in the television series The Book of Daniel (2006). That same year, she made her Broadway debut in The Lieutenant of Inishmore (2006) earning a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play nomination. Her other notable stage roles include in Blackbird (2007), Mauritius (2007), The Miracle Worker (2010), The House of Blue Leaves (2011), and Three Tall Women (2018).
An idioglossia is an idiosyncratic language invented and spoken by only one or two people. Most often, idioglossia refers to the "private languages" of young children, especially twins, the latter being more specifically known as cryptophasia, and commonly referred to as twin talk or twin speech.
Olivia "Liv" Margaret Benson is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the NBC police procedural drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, portrayed by Mariska Hargitay. Benson holds the rank and pay-grade of Captain and is the Commanding Officer of the Special Victims Unit of the New York City Police Department, which operates out of the 16th Precinct. She investigates sexual offenses such as rape and child sexual abuse.
Jodi Lynn Picoult is an American writer. Picoult has published 28 novels and short stories, and has also written several issues of Wonder Woman. Approximately 40 million copies of her books are in print worldwide and have been translated into 34 languages. In 2003, she was awarded the New England Bookseller Award for fiction.
Bethany Platt is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street. She was born on-screen during the episode broadcast on 4 June 2000. She was played by Mia Cookson in 2000 and by twins Amy and Emily Walton from 2000 until 30 December 2007, when the character departed. The character was reintroduced with Lucy Fallon taking over the role, and Bethany made her return on 20 March 2015. On 2 May 2019, Fallon announced that she had quit the show. She filmed her last scene on 16 January 2020 and Bethany departed on 4 March 2020. In August 2023, it was announced that Fallon would be reprising the role after three years away. Bethany returned on 31 December 2023.
Plain Truth (2001) is the seventh novel written by the American author Jodi Picoult. The story follows a murder on an Amish farm.
The Pact (1998) is the fifth novel by the American author Jodi Picoult about a possible suicide pact between two teenage lovers, and the journey that one must take after losing a loved one.
Toby Mills is a fictional character from the British soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Henry Luxemburg. The character debuted on-screen during the episode broadcast on 25 October 2001. Toby is introduced into the series as a university student and a pub barman. He was originally characterised as a risk-taker and a loyal friend. Producers decided to transform Toby into the show's first serial killer. His murder spree plays largely into his characterisation as writers displayed his anger issues and relationship issues.
Ellie Mills is a fictional character from the British soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Sarah Baxendale. The character made her first on-screen appearance on 15 February 2002. Ellie is part of the show's Hunter family. She had been referenced on-screen numerous times as her family were searching for her after she goes missing in Ibiza. She later arrives in Chester which shocks her family. Ellie is characterised as a confident and independent female but has selfish tendencies. Ellie's stories have revolved around her relationships, especially with Toby Mills, who she later marries. Writers portrayed Toby as a serial killer who goes on a prolonged murder spree in the community. Writers embroiled Ellie into his crimes and she choses not to report him to the police. Ellie later fears for her safety and flees to Liverpool. The scenes formed part of a late-night spin-off episode titled Hollyoaks: Leap of Faith, which featured Toby's death. Ellie was featured in one of the show's biggest stunts when she and Toby fall from a one-hundred foot building. Ellie survives and later allows her brother, Dan Hunter to take the blame for the murders. Ellie's lies are soon discovered and she is arrested and put on trial for covering up Toby's murders.
Perfect Match (2002) is the ninth novel by the American author Jodi Picoult. The novel explores the themes of family conflict, individual inner turmoil and guilt, personal and professional conflict, and vengeance. Though primarily, the novel focuses on child sexual abuse and (justifiable) murder. Unlike many of Picoult's other novels, Perfect Match does not follow the back-and-forth flashback format.
The ninth season of the police procedural/legal drama, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered September 25, 2007 and ended May 13, 2008 on NBC. It aired on Tuesday nights at 10pm/9c. Mariska Hargitay, having won a Golden Globe Award in 2005, received her second Golden Globe nomination for her work in the ninth season.
My Sister's Keeper is a 2009 American drama film directed by Nick Cassavetes and starring Cameron Diaz, Abigail Breslin, Sofia Vassilieva and Alec Baldwin. Based on Jodi Picoult's 2004 novel of the same name, on June 26, 2009, the film was released to cinemas in the United States, Canada, Ireland, Mexico, and the United Kingdom.
Change of Heart is the sixteenth novel by American author Jodi Picoult, published in 2008. The novel explores themes of loss, redemption, religion and spirituality, and punishment.
Handle with Care (2009) is the 17th novel by the American author Jodi Picoult. It debuted at #1 on The New York Times Best Seller list.
The twelfth season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered in the United States on NBC on September 22, 2010, and concluded on May 18, 2011. This was the first season that the show did not air alongside the original Law & Order. Episodes initially aired on Wednesdays between 9pm/8c and 10pm/9c Eastern, except for the season premiere, which aired from 9pm/8c to 11pm/10c. After the winter hiatus, SVU returned with another two-hour showing on January 5, 2011, before the broadcast time switched to the 10pm/9c time slot the following week.
House Rules (2010) is the eighteenth novel by the American author Jodi Picoult. The novel focuses on a young adult male, Jacob Hunt, with Asperger's syndrome living in Townshend, Vermont, who is accused of murder. The novel follows the struggle between Jacob and his family, the law, and his disability.
Infanticide in 19th-century New Zealand was difficult to assess, especially for newborn indigenous Māori infants. Resultantly, many New Zealand women who might otherwise have been sentenced to penal servitude or capital punishment had their sentences commuted to the lesser charge of "concealment of birth" under the Offences Against the Person Act 1867. However, the relative leniency extended only to mothers of concealed or hidden infants who subsequently died. Fathers, grandparents and "baby farmers" like Minnie Dean, the only woman to be executed in New Zealand history, and Daniel Cooper in the 1920s were viewed as more culpable for the death of such infants.
Small Great Things (2016) is the twenty-fifth novel by American author Jodi Picoult. The book focuses on race in America and revolves around the protagonist, a delivery nurse, named Ruth Jefferson. Small Great Things is being adapted into a film starring Viola Davis and Julia Roberts. This is Picoult's first novel with an African American protagonist.
Leaving Time is a 2014 novel by American writer Jodi Picoult. It is the twenty-third novel written by the author. The first edition was published on October 14, 2014, by Ballantine Books, an imprint of Random House.