I saw this movie a couple of times and really liked very much. It is about the story of Carrie Buck, an apparently retarded woman who got pregnant at age 17 as the result of a rape perpetrated by her foster parents' nephew. She was then committed to a colony for fibleminded and epileptics while the adoptive parents took care of her daughter, Vivian. There was an eugenics program going on at that time in Virginia which authorized sterilizacion on all those who were feeble-minded people or have undesirable traits to improve the nation's gene quality. Carrie Buck was sterilized along with her mother and sister (who were also considered fible-minded) in 1927, shortly after having her only child, her daughter Vivian, who died at age 8 of intestinal disease. The case Buck vs Bell was brought to the Supreme Court and in a 8-1 decision it was ruled that the statute of sterilizations of the state of Virginia did not violate the right of procreation with the argument that "two generations of imbeciles were enough". Good performances by Marlee Matlin and Melissa Gilbert make this movie work, even though the pace is kind of slow and direction lacks some vitality to make it great but being a television movie it is a decent enough little picture with nice costumes, art direction and sharp dramatic moments. It will appeal to Matlin's fans (deaf Hollywood star) who will actually get to hear her voice as she speaks even though she cannot listen but she gave it a try and it pays. I gave it a six out of ten.
Against Her Will: The Carrie Buck Story
(1994 TV Movie)
Good effort by Marlee Matlin and Melissa Gilbert
1 October 2015
Warning: Spoilers