Finally, an Untold Story
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
Lifetime’s chilling new miniseries, “Human Trafficking,” represents the ultimate in women-in-jeopardy movies – a fact that wouldn’t be worth mentioning except that its presence on Lifetime reminds us of the cable channel’s longstanding obsession with the genre. For years, Lifetime has specialized in cheesy made-for-TV movies about women who’ve been raped, beaten, abused, and otherwise mistreated by men, and who – as comedian Carol Liefer once put it – almost always appear in the shower at some point late in the movie, furiously scrubbing away the psychic scars. These maudlin movies often starred Crystal Bernard, the former co-star of “Wings,” who typified Lifetime’s commitment to the careers of former TV stars who needed to keep their union health insurance going.
It’s nice, at last, to see Lifetime deliver a movie that isn’t meant as comfort food for women. “Human Trafficking” deals in the seamy world of international sex trade, mostly involving women and children – and in a sophisticated and subtle manner that marks a significant step forward for a network that most recently brought us Rob Lowe and Julia Ormond in “Beach Girls” and an “Intimate Portrait” of “Today” show newsreader Ann Curry. This time – with Mira Sorvino at the center of this dark, brooding four-hour miniseries, Lifetime’s first stab at the genre – there’s a broader lesson for viewers than the don’t-open-the-front-door-at-night message of its usual fare. “Human Trafficking” (which debuts next Monday night at 9) won’t be easy for the Lifetime audience to digest, and that’s exactly the point.
Ms. Sorvino plays Kate Morozov, a Russian-born New York City police detective who becomes determined to investigate international sex trafficking after witnessing the suicide of a young girl after a brutal encounter. She begs an agent for the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement division (Donald Sutherland) to allow her to work full-time as an investigator; soon enough, she takes a young Czech woman into custody who helps her identify Sergei Karpovich (Robert Carlyle), a Russian crook who runs a major network of sex traffickers. Parallel plots follow a young Russian girl forced into prostitution by Karpovich. When the young Czech witness is killed, Morozov must start her investigation over; to do so she goes undercover as a mail-order bride.
Nothing happens quite as you might expect it to here; even after four hours, nothing is settled, no permanent solution found or bad guy put behind bars for good. The very survival of Ms. Sorvino’s character remains uncertain, and the taut suspense adds to the frightening feeling generated by the movie’s basis in truth. The singular purpose of “Human Trafficking” – produced by Robert Halmi Sr., a veteran who delivered last year’s “Lion In Winter” remake on Showtime – is to shine a harsh spotlight on what Lifetime refers to as an “epidemic.” It’s hard not to find value in that; so much of what appears on television, under the guise of public interest, serves only to capitalize on the public’s obsession with violence – including Lifetime’s seemingly endless stories of rape and sexual abuse. Here, at last, Lifetime has found a story previously untold.
One of the pleasures of “Human Trafficking” (if you can call anything in connection with this harsh drama a pleasure) is the performance of Ms. Sorvino. Having won an Academy Award early in her career for her performance in Woody Allen’s “Mighty Aphrodite,” Ms. Sorvino has struggled for years with the Oscar curse. She sets the perfect tone here as an investigator whose passion doesn’t take a multitude of words to explain. Robert Carlyle’s turn as Sergei Karpovich reminds us what a great actor he can be; like Ms. Sorvino, he hasn’t had sufficient chance to live up to the promise of his first big role, in “The Full Monty.” Maybe “Human Trafficking” will serve the dual purpose of focusing attention on a worldwide problem, and reminding Hollywood of two underutilized talents. Will it also help push Lifetime in a new direction, towards more consistently meaningful entertainment? With apologies to Crystal Bernard and Ann Curry, I hope so.
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Last week’s episode of “Commander in Chief” revealed creator Rod Lurie’s true strategy for the show – to create a camp classic, with egregious dialogue and over-the-top situations designed for humor. The sight of Geena Davis storming into the press room and trashing the media’s obsession with her children was as hilarious as it was unrealistic – capped with the line, “By the way, this isn’t Mac the President talking, this is Mac the Mother … don’t mess with my kids.” The introduction of scenery-chewer extraordinaire Peter Coyote as a vice-presidential nominee with John Kerry-like military service problems adds yet more laughs to the mix.
Could this be why ABC replaced Mr. Lurie as the show’s executive producer with the ultra-serious Steven Bochco? If so it’s too bad. I’ll miss Mr. Lurie’s weird obsessions, including the big one he has with himself. He put his “created by” credit directly below the show’s title, and named a central character Rod in an homage to himself.
