Client Seduction

An attempt to improve her tarnished public image dramatically backfires on Ohio lawyer Ally Sheedy when she takes up the case of a homeless teen (Rhys Ward) accused of murder in this far-fetched tale of lies, manipulation and mother-daughter conflict. Quickly starting to doubt her initial belief in his innocence, she soon finds everything that she holds dear at risk as her rebellious offspring (a suitably stroppy Annie Clark) falls under the street Svengali's spell. The increasingly implausible events are matched by Sheedy's unconvincing performance, which never really captures her character's escalating emotional turmoil. What keeps the TV movie watchable is the continually shifting power balance between Sheedy and Ward, providing the crime thriller with a couple of twists and leading to a reasonable if tension-free climax.