Naman Shrestha
With David DeCoteau occupying the director’s chair, Lifetime’s ‘Tall, Dark, and Dangerous’ is a mystery thriller film that focuses on the life of a successful and esteemed real estate attorney named Alice. As Valentine’s Day approaches, she decides to find a date on the dating app, Be My Valentine. With luck on her side, she soon finds, what appears to be, a perfect match in a guy named Chris. However, it doesn’t take long for her to realize that her Valentine is not who she thinks he is — Chris is an impostor who apparently stole the identity of his former roommate, Jason, just to introduce himself in her life.
As Chris puts everything that Alice has worked on in jeopardy, she must try to get out of the situation well and alive. Featuring compelling performances from a group of talented actors, including Jamie Bernadette, Matthew Pohlkamp, Michael Paré, Tracy Nelson, Tom Sandoval, Eric Roberts, and Jackee Harry, the movie touches upon the themes of the perils of online dating and identity theft, both of which are quite prevalent in the real world as well, leaving the viewers with the question — Is ‘Tall, Dark, and Dangerous’ rooted in reality?
Tall, Dark, and Dangerous is Not Inspired From Reality
No, ‘Tall, Dark, and Dangerous’ is not based on a true story. In fact, the credit for the enthralling tale must be given to the combined effort of three talented screenwriters — Adam Rockoff, Owen Schenck, and Ryan Schenck — who collaborated and conjured up the intriguing yet seemingly realistic storyline for the Lifetime production. Interestingly, out of the three, Adam Rockoff is the most experienced as he has worked on several other thrillers over the course of his career, including ‘Silent Night, Fatal Night,’ ‘A Roommate to Die For,’ ‘One Night Stand Murder,’ and ‘Love at First Lie.’
In real life, cases of catfishing and identity theft have surfaced several times, which is one of the reasons why many of you might find the movie close to reality. Some of you might have fallen prey to the same personally or heard about it from one of your acquaintances. Besides that, these themes have been the subject matter of numerous film and television projects, giving you an impression of familiarity. For instance, Lifetime’s ‘Burned by Love’ has to be one of the aptest examples. Helmed by Michelle Ouellet, the mystery movie revolves around a divorcee named Ashley Morrison who resorts to an online dating site to find a compatible partner.
Luckily, Ashley gets matched with an ideal man but as time passes, she realizes that he is a scammer and a violent stalker, hell-bent on making her life a living hell. Now, she must attempt to bring him to justice before he ends up hurting her and others. Apart from the storylines, even the character sketches of a few characters share similarities when it comes to ‘Tall, Dark, and Dangerous’ and ‘Burned by Love.’ Thus, considering all the above-mentioned factors, we can come to the conclusion that the Lifetime film consists of true-to-life themes and elements, but it doesn’t change the fact that it is a work of fiction.
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