mark-4825 This film adequately portrays the kind of damage that can be done by religious cults where conformance and issues resulting from it trump all considerations for the feelings and even the lives of the people ensnared.The courtroom scenes are laughably unrealistic (even more than normal for a TV movie).The previous reviewer who indicates that Katie was drunk and/or unconscious when the baby was conceived was a bit confused. That was one of her original obvious lies. The baby was the product of a romantic relationship.

Sonofamoviegeek Plain Truth is much better than the average made-for-TV Canadian production. For one thing, the sound track is intelligible. I can't count how many Canadian-made movies I've seen that have poor quality sound. Another distinction for a Canadian movie is the strong writing and plot line. This may be because the movie is adapted from a book. Perhaps the movie isn't as good as the book but adaptations are always difficult to put on the screen. As a made-for TV movie, I would class Plain Truth as above-average.The acting and casting are also above-average with the exception of the pneumatic, ever-scowling Mariska Hargitay. How that sour face could ever gain confidence in a pious Amish community strains the viewer's credulity. Despite these obvious flaws, I still recommend Plain Truth, should it come your way.

Jenna (hayden-panettiere-ukfan) This might be a slightly biased review, but I have only watched half an hour of this movie, and I've had to turn it off in disgust. They might as well have called it an original movie, because they had nothing of Picoult's original novel in it, not even most of the characters names. For starters, the baby was found in a barn, not in a bunch of reeds, and Sarah and Leda are SISTERS, not cousins. Not to mention the Katie's surname is Fisher, and not Filch. I would understand if some names had to be changed to protect people, but these characters all came from Picoult's imagination. I am absolutely disgusted with their supposed 'interpretation'.The only redeeming feature I could find in this film was the acting by Alison Pill. Looking at her face shape, she is exactly how I imagined Katie to look.Fans of the book, I would not recommend you watching this movie. 1/10.

Francis A. Breen, Jr., M.D. I'm tempted to call this "Mariska trapped in a hunk of Swiss cheese" but this confused mess of a movie has a lot more holes than that. It's so weak and contrived that even the exceptional acting talents of Mariska Hargitay can't save it. Every time a plot twist was needed the accused simply told another lie and off we went in a new and contrived direction. The depiction of Amish life is cartoonish. One would think that the writers would know better than to have the accused calling her parents "mom and dad". And white buttons on shirts? There's a lot more but to delve any deeper might give away what little plot there is, so I'll simply recommend avoiding this film altogether.