Christina Reviews *Dawn Anna*

        Dawn Anna is a Lifetime movie about the mother of Columbine victim Lauren Townsend and her battle with illness.  Ninety percent of the movie is about her overcoming her disease only for her daughter to get shot to death in the final ten minutes.  It’s not a very happy story, but it’s supposed to be uplifting because Dawn Anna shows remarkable strength in the face of tragedy.

        I know that the only reason why Dawn Anna got a movie was because she was the mother of one of the Columbine victims, which makes me wonder why her daughter’s death was rushed into the movie at the very last minute and given so little screen time that the viewer barely has a chance to even register what has happened before the credits roll.   Just before the movie ends, we see Dawn Anna visiting Lauren’s grave.  I can’t remember how long after the tragedy it was, but it was long enough for Dawn Anna to have distanced herself somewhat from the initial shock and grief.  What was the point in even mentioning Lauren’s death then?  To show that Dawn Anna has the worst luck in the world?  I suppose we were supposed to marvel at the way in which she overcame adversity.  The only thing is that anyone can appear to overcome adversity if you skip over the whole grieving process and cut to however many years later when the anger and hurt has died down and the acceptance has long since sunk in.  

          I have never seen a Lifetime movie this poorly constructed, and that’s saying something right there.  The writers tried to fit two movies into one, and they didn't pull it off.