Naman Shrestha
The Michelle Ouellet directorial, Lifetime’s ‘Dying in Plain Sight,’ is a drama film that centers upon a mother and daughter — Morgan Cruz, an overweight high school student, and Kim — both of whom hide some dark secrets from one another. After leaving her cheating husband, Kim focuses on “clean eating,” so much so that she fails to notice that Morgan has stopped eating completely. Soon, Morgan begins receiving positive validation for her changed body while dealing with all the side effects that come with her disorder. As her cries are not heard by anyone, she ends up in the hospital bed for life-threatening malnutrition.
When Kim sees Morgan hospitalized, she finally comes to a realization that her disordered eating has had a negative impact and influence on her daughter’s life. As the narrative deals with a complex mother-daughter bond and eating disorders, many of you are likely to question the authenticity of the tale.
Dying in Plain Sight is Inspired by True Events
Yes, ‘Dying in Plain Sight’ is said to have been inspired by true events. The credit for weaving the intriguing tale around reality must be given to the screenwriter of the film, Lydia Genner. Given her creative mind and several years of writing experience under her belt (‘Camp Takota,’ ‘The Outfield,’ ‘I Love You… But I Lied,’ and ‘Rediscovering Christmas’), she was able to come up with the gripping screenplay for the Lifetime movie.
Eating disorders are quite common occurrences in real life as some of you might have faced them personally or know someone who has. By revolving the narrative around this realistic yet sensitive subject matter, the makers of the film managed to raise some much-needed awareness regarding the same. After all, eating disorders of all kinds are unhealthy and quite common in students. It can cause some serious problems in a student’s mental health, physical health, academic performance, and social engagement.
One of the primary reasons why you might find the themes and elements of ‘Dying in Plain Sight’ familiar is that they have been explored in other movies and TV shows. One of the aptest examples has to be that of the 2009 short film titled ‘STARving.’ Written and directed by Sierra Lisa, the narrative revolves around Sam, one of the many female students at a performing arts high school. Just like most women, Sam also gives in to the societal pressure to be skinny and finds herself deep into a world of compulsion where help is out of reach. Through the eyes of Sam, the drama short movie raises awareness about the struggles of young women and how they are pressured to look a certain way. All in all, we can conclude that ‘Dying in Plain Sight’ takes inspiration from reality and portrays it through the characters of Morgan and Kim.
Read More: Is Lifetime’s The Wrong Life Coach Inspired by a True Story?
