Fatal Desire
Encyclopedia
Fatal Desire is a made-for-TV film produced by Lifetime Television
. It premiered April 3, 2006 on the network and starred Eric Roberts
as Joe, an ex-policeman turned casino
pit boss in Atlantic City
, and Anne Heche
as Tanya Sullivan, a bored housewife with very manipulative
ways. The movie was based on, or "inspired by," the true crime book Fatal Error by journalists Mark Morris and Paul Janczewski. The book in turn was based on the real life case against Sharee Miller
. The film featured two original songs by New Orleans-based singer/songwriter Kristin Diable and marked the cable television premiere of her work.
After a few months of exchanging messages, they meet in person. When she arrives at the airport, Joe learns that her real name is Tanya Sullivan and Joe is instantly attracted to her. She also reveals that she is married and has a young daughter. However, both Joe and Tanya don't care.
Through several months the relationship grows from hot, passionate sex, into what Joe believes is love. During those months, they continue meeting and Tanya sends Joe pornographic videos of herself. The relationship seems to be going great, until one day Tanya drops a bombshell. She's pregnant with what she believes is Joe's baby. After she tells Joe of her pregnancy, Joe tries to convince Tanya to leave her husband to come and live with him. But Tanya refuses the offer, saying her husband is very dangerous and would never let that happen.
Throughout the rest of the movie, Joe tries to convince himself that what Tanya is saying is true by asking to take pictures of the abuse that her husband allegedly causes. When Tanya pulls through with the evidence so to speak, it's not long before another bombshell is dropped. Tanya's husband finds out about the affair and takes it out on Tanya by raping her and in the process getting rid of her baby, or so Joe thinks.
At this point Joe can't take it anymore. So with the blessing of Tanya, he plots and then sets out to kill Tanya's husband, in which he succeeds in shooting him to death. During the weeks following the murder, the relationship between Joe and Tanya slowly starts to disintegrate. It's not long before Joe loses contact with Tanya all together.
So Joe decides to investigate. He travels to the town where Tanya lives. There he figures out that everything that Tanya has been telling him is a lie. Tanya was never pregnant. Her husband never abused her. She has a new house from her husband's life insurance policy. And worst of all, Tanya has a new boyfriend. Joe is devastated at learning this. He returns to Atlantic City where he falls into a deep depression. He starts to drink again, which results in Joe's son leaving to go live with his mom. Joe then finally decides to take action, or rather his own life.
Joe commits suicide and in his suicide note instructs his friend to make sure a suitcase under his bed gets to the police in Tanya's hometown. Armed with the evidence Joe has left for them, the police arrest Tanya, and she ends up convicted of first-degree conspiracy to commit murder.
Lifetime Television
Lifetime Television, often referred to as Lifetime TV, or most commonly, Lifetime, is an American cable television specialty channel devoted to movies, sitcoms and dramas, all of which are either geared toward women or feature women in lead roles. The cable network is owned by A&E Television Networks...
. It premiered April 3, 2006 on the network and starred Eric Roberts
Eric Roberts
Eric Anthony Roberts is an American actor. His career began with King of the Gypsies , earning a Golden Globe nomination for best actor debut. He starred as the protagonist in the 1980 dramatisation of Willa Cather's 1905 short story, Paul's Case...
as Joe, an ex-policeman turned casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
pit boss in Atlantic City
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
, and Anne Heche
Anne Heche
Anne Celeste Heche is an American actress, director, and screenwriter. She started her career on the daytime soap opera Another World, for which she won a Daytime Emmy Award in 1991. Heche gradually landed supporting roles in feature films, and in 1997 appeared in I Know What You Did Last Summer,...
as Tanya Sullivan, a bored housewife with very manipulative
Psychological manipulation
Psychological manipulation is a type of social influence that aims to change the perception or behavior of others through underhanded, deceptive, or even abusive tactics. By advancing the interests of the manipulator, often at the other's expense, such methods could be considered exploitative,...
ways. The movie was based on, or "inspired by," the true crime book Fatal Error by journalists Mark Morris and Paul Janczewski. The book in turn was based on the real life case against Sharee Miller
Sharee Miller
Sharee Paulette Kitley Miller is an American woman accused of plotting the murder of her husband with her online lover over the internet. Miller was convicted of the crime, but her conviction was overturned and she is currently free on bond while awaiting a new trial...
. The film featured two original songs by New Orleans-based singer/songwriter Kristin Diable and marked the cable television premiere of her work.
Tagline
A dark, sexually charged true crime thriller about a perfect match that becomes a perfect nightmare.Plot
Joe is a newly divorced, single dad in his forties living in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Though he makes a decent living working as a casino pit boss, and loves the time he is getting to spend with his son, he still longs to start a new relationship. So Joe decides to explore the world of online dating, and while in a chatroom meets a woman in her twenties who calls herself sexykitten.After a few months of exchanging messages, they meet in person. When she arrives at the airport, Joe learns that her real name is Tanya Sullivan and Joe is instantly attracted to her. She also reveals that she is married and has a young daughter. However, both Joe and Tanya don't care.
Through several months the relationship grows from hot, passionate sex, into what Joe believes is love. During those months, they continue meeting and Tanya sends Joe pornographic videos of herself. The relationship seems to be going great, until one day Tanya drops a bombshell. She's pregnant with what she believes is Joe's baby. After she tells Joe of her pregnancy, Joe tries to convince Tanya to leave her husband to come and live with him. But Tanya refuses the offer, saying her husband is very dangerous and would never let that happen.
Throughout the rest of the movie, Joe tries to convince himself that what Tanya is saying is true by asking to take pictures of the abuse that her husband allegedly causes. When Tanya pulls through with the evidence so to speak, it's not long before another bombshell is dropped. Tanya's husband finds out about the affair and takes it out on Tanya by raping her and in the process getting rid of her baby, or so Joe thinks.
At this point Joe can't take it anymore. So with the blessing of Tanya, he plots and then sets out to kill Tanya's husband, in which he succeeds in shooting him to death. During the weeks following the murder, the relationship between Joe and Tanya slowly starts to disintegrate. It's not long before Joe loses contact with Tanya all together.
So Joe decides to investigate. He travels to the town where Tanya lives. There he figures out that everything that Tanya has been telling him is a lie. Tanya was never pregnant. Her husband never abused her. She has a new house from her husband's life insurance policy. And worst of all, Tanya has a new boyfriend. Joe is devastated at learning this. He returns to Atlantic City where he falls into a deep depression. He starts to drink again, which results in Joe's son leaving to go live with his mom. Joe then finally decides to take action, or rather his own life.
Joe commits suicide and in his suicide note instructs his friend to make sure a suitcase under his bed gets to the police in Tanya's hometown. Armed with the evidence Joe has left for them, the police arrest Tanya, and she ends up convicted of first-degree conspiracy to commit murder.
Cast
- Anne HecheAnne HecheAnne Celeste Heche is an American actress, director, and screenwriter. She started her career on the daytime soap opera Another World, for which she won a Daytime Emmy Award in 1991. Heche gradually landed supporting roles in feature films, and in 1997 appeared in I Know What You Did Last Summer,...
as Tanya Sullivan - Eric RobertsEric RobertsEric Anthony Roberts is an American actor. His career began with King of the Gypsies , earning a Golden Globe nomination for best actor debut. He starred as the protagonist in the 1980 dramatisation of Willa Cather's 1905 short story, Paul's Case...
as Joe Donnely - Kathleen YorkKathleen YorkKathleen "Bird" York is an actress, screenwriter and Oscar nominated songwriter-recording artist.As a screenwriter, York has written projects for John Wells Warner Brothers, Sony, Paramount and has just completed a one hour pilot for Fox Television Studios...
as Paula - James Edward Campbell as Teddy Donnely
- Mark A. Owen as Mark Sullivan
- Jessica Parsons as Molly Sullivan