Television Review: And Never Let Her Go (2001)

Mark Harmon is one of the most successful television actors in America today, mostly thanks to the playing role Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, protagonist of NCIS, television series, for nineteen seasons. Harmon has built most of his career on small screen, especially in 1980s when he was pronounced “Sexiest Man Alive”, but the role that made him famous was notorious serial killer Ted Bundy in 1986 television biopic Deliberate Stranger. Harmon has played similar character fifteen years later in And Never Let Her Go, 2001 miniseries directed by Peter Levin.

The miniseries is based on the eponymous book by Ann Rule, who, coincidentally, became one of most prolific and successful true crimes author because of The Stranger Beside Me, book describing her friendship with Bundy. The story described in And Never Let Her Go didn’t contain Rule’s personal connection with the actual killer, but Harmon nevertheless plays Bundy-like figure of a seemingly charming person who hides vicious murderous nature. That person is Thomas Capano, prominent Delaware attorney, Democrat politician and member of one of the state’s wealthiest and most influential families. In 1994 Capano, who is married, meets and starts romantic relationship with Anne Marie Fahey (played by Kathryn Morris), governor’s secretary. The liaison gradually turns very sour when Fahey, whose diary is quoted in the film, finds her lover to be possessive and manipulative. Her attempt to end the affair doesn’t sit well with Capano. In 1996 Fahey mysteriously disappears, leading to investigation conducted by federal prosecutor Colm Conolly (played by Steve Eckholdt) and local police detective Frank Gugliatta (played by Paul Michael Glaser). Capano at first doesn’t seem worried, because he has apparently threw Fahey’s body into the ocean and removed all the evidence of his crime. Conolly and Gugliatta nevertheless continue with their efforts and they finally pay off when Capano’s brother Gerry (played by David Hewlett) decides to testify against Thomas.

Made in typical three-hour format of American broadcast television, And Never Let Her Go has all the benefits and flaws true crime television films. Its length allows to the characters and plot to develop more than in regular film, but, on the other hand, there are obvious limits to the content which never can be too realistic. Another issue is Ann Rule’s attempt to explain Capano and his crime through cheap pop psychology and some moralising, which at times makes this film more like a sermon than a drama. The cast is mostly fine, though. Mark Harmon is very convincing as successful and charismatic politician who can easily seduce and manipulate vulnerable women, while Kathryn Morris, best known as Detective Lily Rush in Cold Case, is convincing as a victim. Film at times suffers because of respected actors whose mere presence makes this film look too Hollywood-like to serve as proper docudrama. Those involve Rachel Ward as another of Capano’s abused mistresses and Olympia Dukakis as Capano’s overbearing mother. Paul Michael Glaser, star of popular 1970s detective series Starsky and Hutch , later known as television director, ended his years-long pause in acting in order to play Gugliatta, but his performance here isn’t particularly memorable. Although watchable, And Never Let Her Go looks something like a waste of talent compared with much less ambitious but more focused true crime documentaries that covered the same case.

RATING: 4/10 (+)

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