When I first heard about this movie I thought it would be great. When I saw that it was based on a book, I was even more thrilled. But I made one mistake. I read the book first. And that clouded my opinion of the movie. If you've read the book don't bother to see the movie. It will only disappoint you. (Save for the eye candy that is Eric Lively) But if you're completely new to the story line, watch the movie first then read the book. Then you'll see exactly what I meant. Don't get me wrong, the story itself is wonderful, I just prefer the un-edited, un-cut book version.
15 Reviews
Don't watch if you've read and enjoyed the book
tasha-ross7 June 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Well I got this for my birthday last year, after having read the book by Jodi Picoult. My mother had also read it and after we watched the film we were in complete agreement that it did not do the novel justice. Part of what makes the novel so enjoyable is the continuous flashbacks, and from what I can remember of the film these are extremely limited. I am aware that it would be difficult to transpose the whole novel to film, as it would be too long, but if it means cutting out main features such as the flashbacks, why bother?! And to make things worse, the plot has been completely changed. I believe that the sexual abuse Emily was exposed to when she was younger is a catalyst in the sad turn of events in her life. If she wasn't sexually abused she may have been able to abort her baby and wouldn't have felt trapped. However the abuse is completely omitted. And part of the drama of the story is that Melanie Gold burns her daughter's diary, which reveals everything, and the plot culminates in Chris' trial. However at the end of this film she hands over the diary and there IS no trial. This of course means the character of Jordan McAfee is not relevant, which is a pity as his character and personal life are an interesting sub-plot. Because of these things if you enjoyed the novel, this film almost seems a different story, and is very disappointing. However my sister watched the film with us, having not read the book and quite enjoyed it. She now wishes to read the book, so perhaps it is a good film for those who haven't read it. I would have rated this film lower if not for that fact.
heart touching
shake_it_off_mariah27 July 2005
I just watched this movie last night on lifetime, and this was a very heart touching film. Eric Lively is a wonderful actor, and having him actually playing the part of chris made me understand the movie a lot better. This movie really puts you in the situation of what they are going through. This is for people who really love romantic movies, and believe that if you love someone that you will do anything for them. If you don't like love stories than you will absolutely hate this film, so please don't see it if you don't like romantic films. Teens having a suicide pact to be together, but actually for the girl to cover up a pregnacy makes the movie more interesting, and not just about a suicide pact.
Not quite the tear-jerker I expected, but was tolerable.
bugsboom4 November 2002
This film was actually pretty good. I half expected to bawl my eyes out (like I sometimes do at Lifetime movies) but I didn't. It was pretty sad, but I came from the film with more questions than feelings.
The movie is about two families that have known each other for practically forever. The son, Chris (played by the ultra-cute and talented Eric Lively) of one family and the daughter, Emily of the other grow up together and eventually fall in love. For whatever strange reason (I shall not say b/c I do not wish to spoil the movie for anyone) they make a suicide pact. She kills herself, but he lives. The movie then follows his subsequent trial for murder (ooh, the plot thickens) and how these events shake up the relationships of both families.
The movie luckily isn't some preachy afterschool special about teenage suicide. You can feel the pain Chris goes through and the love he had for Emily. The strain between the families is evident. More so between the two mothers (played by Megan Mullally and Juliet Stevenson) as their friendship deteriorates throughout the film. However, I wish they had not made Chris such a creepy character. His motives aren't clear in the beginning and it feels like that in the last 45 minutes of the movie they are trying too hard to rush the sensitivity of his character. They make Megan Mullally out to be the vindictive mother wanting someone, anyone to pay for her daughter's death. And lastly, it is not understood why Emily was so depressed to begin with. Perhaps we are not meant to understand, but it got a bit tedious and confusing after a while. All in all, this was a pretty good movie for Lifetime. 7 stars out of 10. I'm definitely going to have to read the book now.
The movie is about two families that have known each other for practically forever. The son, Chris (played by the ultra-cute and talented Eric Lively) of one family and the daughter, Emily of the other grow up together and eventually fall in love. For whatever strange reason (I shall not say b/c I do not wish to spoil the movie for anyone) they make a suicide pact. She kills herself, but he lives. The movie then follows his subsequent trial for murder (ooh, the plot thickens) and how these events shake up the relationships of both families.
The movie luckily isn't some preachy afterschool special about teenage suicide. You can feel the pain Chris goes through and the love he had for Emily. The strain between the families is evident. More so between the two mothers (played by Megan Mullally and Juliet Stevenson) as their friendship deteriorates throughout the film. However, I wish they had not made Chris such a creepy character. His motives aren't clear in the beginning and it feels like that in the last 45 minutes of the movie they are trying too hard to rush the sensitivity of his character. They make Megan Mullally out to be the vindictive mother wanting someone, anyone to pay for her daughter's death. And lastly, it is not understood why Emily was so depressed to begin with. Perhaps we are not meant to understand, but it got a bit tedious and confusing after a while. All in all, this was a pretty good movie for Lifetime. 7 stars out of 10. I'm definitely going to have to read the book now.
Excellent Telemovie
SeanHayesfan1617 February 2003
"The Pact" starring Megan Mullally was an excellent television movie. I was surprised to see Megan play such a dramatic role because I was so used to her as Karen Walker on "Will&Grace",in which she plays a funny character.Megan Mullally is such a wonderful actress in this movie."The Pact" sends a strong message about an issue many teens might be thinking of. Overall, I give "The Pact" 4 stars because it's a very good movie.
Just when you think you know your kids...
SusieSalmonLikeTheFish20 December 2014
Warning: Spoilers
The Pact and its dull movie poster are nothing to describe such a powerful movie, it's a Lifetime movie (those have a reputation for being pretty repetitive and boring and overly religious), but The Pact is a movie that will really leave you wondering, not only about suicide but also about how quickly a neighborhood can fall apart when something terrible happens.
The Hartes and the Golds are two next-door families, best friends for at least eighteen years or more, and they always celebrated holidays, beach trips, birthdays and other moments together while it was recorded on 8mm film. Chris Harte and Emily Gold were boyfriend and girlfriend and Emily was pregnant, so when the two families discover their suicide pact that left Emily dead, of course everybody targets Chris, who comes home from the mental ward depressed and confused. Emily's suicide has everyone puzzled; she was a prolific artist, a dreamer and seemingly perfect in every way, but as the parents of Chris and Emily begin to fight and snap at each other, Gus Hearte realizes that Emily was suicidal because she hated her perfect life, her perfect parents and her perfect reputation.
Emily narrates The Pact, and the way her story is depicted is very similar to The Lovely Bones (2009). From purgatory she discusses her own emotions and fears, looking down on her collapsing neighborhood with regret. Meanwhile she points out the nostalgic little things she'll miss, from the summer smells of pool chlorine and her old red treehouse to the rusty tin can that she and Chris put up on a wire as a makeshift mailbox.
The Pact has great soundtrack, the actors were all excellent and unlike the typical suicide prevention movies that direct all attention to the suicidal teenager in question, The Pact focuses on the people left behind. After all, if you commit suicide, it's never just you who pays. Family members, friends, co-workers, they're the ones left to suffer.
The Hartes and the Golds are two next-door families, best friends for at least eighteen years or more, and they always celebrated holidays, beach trips, birthdays and other moments together while it was recorded on 8mm film. Chris Harte and Emily Gold were boyfriend and girlfriend and Emily was pregnant, so when the two families discover their suicide pact that left Emily dead, of course everybody targets Chris, who comes home from the mental ward depressed and confused. Emily's suicide has everyone puzzled; she was a prolific artist, a dreamer and seemingly perfect in every way, but as the parents of Chris and Emily begin to fight and snap at each other, Gus Hearte realizes that Emily was suicidal because she hated her perfect life, her perfect parents and her perfect reputation.
Emily narrates The Pact, and the way her story is depicted is very similar to The Lovely Bones (2009). From purgatory she discusses her own emotions and fears, looking down on her collapsing neighborhood with regret. Meanwhile she points out the nostalgic little things she'll miss, from the summer smells of pool chlorine and her old red treehouse to the rusty tin can that she and Chris put up on a wire as a makeshift mailbox.
The Pact has great soundtrack, the actors were all excellent and unlike the typical suicide prevention movies that direct all attention to the suicidal teenager in question, The Pact focuses on the people left behind. After all, if you commit suicide, it's never just you who pays. Family members, friends, co-workers, they're the ones left to suffer.
A Dilemma of Two Families
lavatch9 February 2021
Warning: Spoilers
The time is the present, and the setting is Bainbridge, New Hampshire. But the tragic drama that unfolds could have occurred at almost any time or place. The names of the two families of the Hartes and the Golds have the same ring as the Montagues and the Capulets.
But "The Pact" weaves a far different moral truth than the political struggle of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet." When young Chris and Emily apparently try to complete a suicide pact, Emily is the only one who dies. The survivor Chris is then subjected to a trial for first-degree murder. A wedge is driven deep into the two families who had been neighbors and "family" for decades.
The most intriguing characters developed in the film were the two sets of parents, Augusta ("Gus") and James Harte versus Melanie ("Mel") and Mitchell Gold. The revelation that slowly dawns on the parents is that the reality of a young woman struggling with depression had complete eluded them.
It is interesting that James Harte is an ophthalmologist, yet he and the three other parents have been blind for years to the realities of Emily's suffering. One of the most dramatic moments was when Mitchell Gold decides to go against the position of his wife to testify on behalf of Chris at the trial.
An essential revelation occurs in lurid detail in Emily's diary when the resentment she felt against both sets of parents emerges and how desperate she had become when she learned that she was pregnant. That was likely the tipping point because she was unable to face her mother with the truth. It is the character of Mel who must carry the greatest burden when she discovers and reads the diary.
The scripting was first-rate, so that the diary never felt like a mechanical plot device. And the performances were uniformly excellent. The director's use of close-ups was especially powerful in this drama that felt real from start to finish. This was an unforgettable domestic tragedy that contains great wisdom and compassion.
But "The Pact" weaves a far different moral truth than the political struggle of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet." When young Chris and Emily apparently try to complete a suicide pact, Emily is the only one who dies. The survivor Chris is then subjected to a trial for first-degree murder. A wedge is driven deep into the two families who had been neighbors and "family" for decades.
The most intriguing characters developed in the film were the two sets of parents, Augusta ("Gus") and James Harte versus Melanie ("Mel") and Mitchell Gold. The revelation that slowly dawns on the parents is that the reality of a young woman struggling with depression had complete eluded them.
It is interesting that James Harte is an ophthalmologist, yet he and the three other parents have been blind for years to the realities of Emily's suffering. One of the most dramatic moments was when Mitchell Gold decides to go against the position of his wife to testify on behalf of Chris at the trial.
An essential revelation occurs in lurid detail in Emily's diary when the resentment she felt against both sets of parents emerges and how desperate she had become when she learned that she was pregnant. That was likely the tipping point because she was unable to face her mother with the truth. It is the character of Mel who must carry the greatest burden when she discovers and reads the diary.
The scripting was first-rate, so that the diary never felt like a mechanical plot device. And the performances were uniformly excellent. The director's use of close-ups was especially powerful in this drama that felt real from start to finish. This was an unforgettable domestic tragedy that contains great wisdom and compassion.
definitely an okay movie, despite megan mulally.
preciouslilywhite26 March 2003
this movie is pretty good as far as a lifetime original movie goes, but megan mulally (who i usually enjoy thoroughly) is a comedic actress through and through. even her serious, tender scenes were acted like a comedic actress and it was hard to believe that she was a grieving mother. eric lively and juliet stevenson were both fantastic in this weepy and otherwise entertaining movie.
Wow...
shea_82515 August 2006
Anyone who has seen Will & Grace knows how hilarious Megan Mullally is. However, that doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of what this performer can do. This film is the perfect demonstration of Megan Mullally's unlimited talent. Her touching performance as a mother robbed of her daughter without knowing who to blame is heartbreaking. Megan Mullally is one of the true gems of this generation, an actress falling into the same category as Meryl Streep, who is said by many to be the greatest living film actress. This breathtaking performance is just the beginning. This woman shows us a new talent with every performance and this film is no exception. With an outstanding cast including the amazing Juliet Stevenson, this movie can't go wrong. It's a convincing must-see and truly shows what suicide can do to a family. A touching plot, an extraordinary leading lady, a great cast, and an essential moral... This movie is drama at it's best.
A great TV movie!
Hardtailjr29 May 2003
I personally, loved this movie. But, I saw it before reading the book. And let me tell you, the book is better. It goes into Chris and Emily's past a lot more and it makes you actually feel for the characters. Don't get me wrong, the movie was good too. But, you can't go into as much detail in a 2 hour TV movie as you can in an almost 400 page book. I recommend both the book and the movie, but read the book first.
Great movie!
azgirl18822 July 2007
I love this movie so much. Everything from the story line to the cast are wonderful and keep you hooked until the closing credits. Oh and I am a Megan Mullally fan and she did not disappoint me. I am used to seeing her in comedic roles but thought she made Melanie Gold (a challenging part in my eyes) lovable and real. I could relate to her and felt her loss. I wish she would star in more movies.
Also I really think this movie should have got more publicity... If you like movies like 'virgin suicides' then you'll love this! It's a movie you don't forget in a hurry and leaves you thinking. I hope you enjoy it as much as me :o)
Also I really think this movie should have got more publicity... If you like movies like 'virgin suicides' then you'll love this! It's a movie you don't forget in a hurry and leaves you thinking. I hope you enjoy it as much as me :o)
Really Sad Movie
castlevaniamaster20027 July 2003
I saw this movie yesterday and fell in love with it. Megan Mullally was really good. She is a really good actress whether it is a dramatic role or comedic. Juliet Stevenson was really good in it too. It was really believable that they were actually sad.
Movie was great although Megan's acting was not her best.
Raptorchick35 November 2002
I thought that the movie had a great output on teens with depression problems but i might have to say that Megan Mullally's acting wasn't her greatest in this movie. Eric Lively's acting on the other hand was fantastic!!! The Breakdown Scene has got to be my favorite. I've never seen him get so into his acting ( Not including his acting in SO WEIRD which was amazing! )All-in-All the movie was great!
Interesting Point of View
thatstracy-130 September 2007
Having part of this story told from Emily's point of view is interesting. We realize she committed suicide and was troubled, but the depth of her sadness and her reasoning even after her death is something not seen in many movies involving teen suicide.
It is also refreshing to see Megan Mullally do something other than Karen from Will & Grace.
I also find the other characters to have their own secrets after Emily's death, things they keep to themselves until they are discovered by another member of the family.
More heartbreaking is the division of 2 close families already rocked by this girl's suicide.
I asked Lifetime's site to remind me when this movie is on again so I can record it.
It is also refreshing to see Megan Mullally do something other than Karen from Will & Grace.
I also find the other characters to have their own secrets after Emily's death, things they keep to themselves until they are discovered by another member of the family.
More heartbreaking is the division of 2 close families already rocked by this girl's suicide.
I asked Lifetime's site to remind me when this movie is on again so I can record it.
Oscar quality film and acting
albertpolka-3964129 December 2018
I thought this film would be initially a Lifetime typical film. It is not. It is a riveting tragedy about 2 young lovers and 2 families torn apart by a suicide pact between their children. Eric Lively as Chris is Oscar contention worthy in this film. Also, Megan Mullaly is amazing. The acting tears your heart out. This movie and it's actors are excellent. I just wish it was on more often to see.
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