''Every 9 Seconds'' is a

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

directed by

Kenneth Fink Kenneth Fink is an American television director and television producer of several television series. Prior to directing, Fink was a television documentary-segment producer. He has directed many episodes of several series including: ''Dawson's ...

. It stars former ''

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble c ...

'' co-star,

Gail O'Grady Gail Ann O'Grady (born January 23, 1963), an American actress and producer, is best known for her roles on television. Her roles include Donna Abandando in the ABC police drama ''NYPD Blue'', and Helen Pryor in the NBC drama series ''American Drea ...

Amy Pietz Amy Pietz (born March 6, 1969) is an American actress, known for her roles on television. She received the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series nomination for her role as Annie Spadaro in the ...

, and former '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' star,

Christopher Meloni Christopher Peter Meloni (; born April 2, 1961) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles as NYPD Detective Elliot Stabler on the NBC legal drama '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' for its first 12 seasons and its spin-off ' ...

. The film debuted on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

on October 12, 1997 at 9/8c. It occasionally re-airs on Lifetime as well as its sister channel

Lifetime Movie Network LMN (also known previously as Lifetime Movies, and an initialism for Lifetime Movie Network) is an American pay television network owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between the Disney Media Networks subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company and t ...

Background

The film's title refers to a statistic suggesting that in the United States, a woman is battered every nine seconds. Its October release coincided with National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and NBC heavily promoted it as a means of bringing awareness to domestic violence and to the National Domestic Hot Line.

Plot

Carrie Breiter (

) is a journalist who goes undercover as a crisis line worker. Her work connects her with Janet (

O'Grady ''O'Grady'' (stylized as ''O*gRAdY'') is an American animated television series created by Tom Snyder, Carl W. Adams, and Holly Schlesinger for Noggin's teen-oriented programming block, The N. The show was animated at Snyder's Soup2Nuts studio ...

), an abused woman who calls the hotline trying to proclaim revenge against her abusive ex-husband, Richard (

), and Missy, a teen who declines help from the crisis center and is attacked not long after by her abusive boyfriend. Richard, who had been jailed for domestic abuse, is released early and shows up at Janet's house, menacing her. Breiter, against colleagues' advice, determines to intervene and save Janet.

Cast

as Janet *

as Carrie *

as Richard Sutherland *

Emily Hampshire Emily Hampshire (born 1979) is a Canadian actress. Her best known roles include Angelina in the 1998 romantic comedy '' Boy Meets Girl'', Vivienne in the 2006 film '' Snow Cake'', Jennifer Goines in the Syfy drama series '' 12 Monkeys'' (2015� ...

as Missy *

Michael Riley Michael Riley (born February 4, 1962) is a Canadian actor. From 1998 to 2000, he portrayed Brett Parker in ''Power Play''. He has acted in over 40 films and television series, including '' This Is Wonderland'', for which he received a Gemini Awa ...

as Ray *

Scott Speedman Robert Scott Speedman (born September 1, 1975) is a British-Canadian actor. He is known for portraying Ben Covington in the coming-of-age drama television series '' Felicity'', Lycan–Vampire hybrid Michael Corvin in the gothic horror–actio ...

as Greg * Sean McCann as Mike McConnell *

Mimi Kuzyk Mimi Kuzyk (born February 21, 1952) is a Canadian actress. Early life Kuzyk was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba to Fred and Kay Kuzyk, both of whom are Ukrainian immigrants, and received her early education at the Immaculate Heart of Mary School. Sh ...

as Carol

Critical reception

The film received mixed reviews. The ''Los Angeles Times'' called the plot "absurdly formulaic" and argued that the film cheapened its subject of domestic violence. The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'', although also finding the film familiar and exploitative, wrote: "If it encourages women in an abusive relationship to seek help, or get out, it's certainly worth network air time." ''New York'' magazine praised the "first-rate performances" by its cast, particularly Christopher Meloni.

References

External links

* 1997 television films 1997 films NBC network original films 1990s English-language films {{US-tv-film-stub