Indecent Seduction (1996) starring Gary Cole, Nicholle Tom, Mac Davis, Mary Kay Place, Alyson Hannigan, Sara Rue, Tom Virtue directed by Alan Metzger Movie Review

Indecent Seduction (1996)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Gary Cole in Indecent Seduction (1996)

Abuse of Power

There is a difference between a good movie and a movie with an explosive storyline but sometimes people find it hard to judge a movie clearly when the subject matter is so explosive. That leads me to "Indecent Seduction" which is also known as "For My Daughter's Honor" as this has a highly explosive storyline about a teacher abusing his power to have an affair with a teenage student. But whilst there are many positive reviews of this movie due to its explosive subject matter the way the storyline is handled is not good as whilst it manages to cover various aspects of a teacher student affair it does so in a less than subtle manner, something which in fairness is probably down to TV movie constraints to make it fit into a certain length.

On her first day at Tate High School 14 year old Amy Dustin (Nicholle Tom - Beethoven's 2nd) and her friends Kelly (Alyson Hannigan) and Kimberly (Sara Rue) learn all about coach Nash (Gary Cole - In the Line of Fire) who everyone knows is very friendly with the young girl students. Before long he has set his attentions on Amy, slipping her love notes in with her homework and singling her out for his special attention and as a 14 year old girl Amy knows no better. It doesn't stop there as Coach Nash flirts with her friends to keep them onside, buying them alcohol and let them drive his truck in order to spend time with Amy and even arranging for her to stay over with his daughter and go on a camping trip with his family. But where will it all end as Nash becomes increasingly jealous when ever a boy talks to her.

Nicholle Tom in Indecent Seduction (1996)

So I have to say that there will be in spoilers in this review so if you don't want to know some of what happens then I recommend tracking down a copy and watching "Indecent Seduction".

Okay so simple enough, we have a teacher who is abusing his power by having an affair with a student but what "Indecent Seduction" feels like is that someone has looked through the case files of similar true stories and combined every element of abuse they can in to 90 minutes. Now on one hand this is good as it highlights things from the way Coach Nash worked to guilt Amy into having sex with him to how others don't want to acknowledge what is happening because of the far reaching effects of tackling the subject. But by cramming everything they can in to 90 minutes makes it feel very manufactured and some things end up less than subtle such as when Nash takes Amy into a closet during a lesson because he wants to kiss her and then both return sheepishly.

What this means is that during these 90 minutes there are several good aspects and just as many bad. When we see the headmaster's reaction to another teacher complaining about Nash's inappropriate behaviour it rings very true and in light of the Jimmy Savile abuse which has been major headlines here in the UK over the last year the reaction is hauntingly real of how people perceived people in power of being innocent. But we also see how this all affects Amy who not only thinks that Nash is in love with her, due to her young age and inexperience but we also see how she is blamed when he is arrested and the school team start to fail.

Now what "Indecent Seduction" has going for it despite the flaws is an array of good performances such as those from Alyson Hannigan and Sara Rue who play Amy's friends. Also giving a convincing performance is Nicholle Tom as Amy getting across the naivety of a 14 year old especially when it comes to her believing that Nash genuinely loves her as well as the naivety when it comes to his predatory manipulations to get his way with her. Then there is Gary Cole as Coach Pete Nash and whilst his character suffers because there are many flaws to his actions the way he comes over all predatory is unsettling. Watching him flirt inappropriately with various young students is uncomfortable but nothing like the uncomfortable feeling of watching him lead Amy into a bedroom and tell her it is time.

What this all boils down to is that there is no denying that the story which "Indecent Seduction" tells is a powerful one but unfortunately by trying to condense everything into a 90 minute TV movie it ends up flawed. It is still worth a watch and is an eye opening experience but one which could have been so much better.


LATEST REVIEWS