''Just Ask My Children'' is a 2001

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romance film, romances, adventure f ...

made-for-television film, recounting the true story of the Kern County child abuse cases from the perspectives of various members of the Kniffen Family.

Plot

In 1982, Parents Brenda Kniffen ( Virginia Madsen) and her husband Scott Kniffen ( Jeffrey Nordling) are arrested due to false accusations of satanic ritual abuse, child molestation and other acts of illegal activity. Two years later, they are found guilty and both sentenced to 240 years in prison without parole following a systematic trial. Brenda and Scott have two young boys, Brandon and Brian Kniffen, who are played by various actors as they age from little boys to grown adult men in the foster care system. Denver Dunn ( Graham Beckel), a private detective, is hired soon afterwards to have the Kniffen parents exonerated.
Ms. Landry, a surly prison guard, ( Deirdre O'Connell) would show disgust towards Brenda at first, but as time passed she would to have doubts about Brenda's guilt as American society begins to be more critical of 1980's " Satanic Panic" type cases. In 1996, after serving the first 12 years in prison, Scott and Brenda were released and exonerated, as it was revealed they were wrongfully and falsely accused. Having missed their children, and missed seeing them grow up within those 12 years, the family's reunion is bittersweet.
The film also illustrates corruption within the legal system, noting that the Kniffen boys were coached by social workers and prosecutor Andrew Gines ( John Billingsley) to claim that the abuse had occurred.

Cast

* Virginia Madsen as Brenda Kniffen * Jeffrey Nordling as Scott Kniffen * Graham Beckel as Denver Dunn * Deirdre O'Connell as Ms. Landry * John Billingsley as Andrew Gines * Robert Joy as Sam Bennis * Barbara Tarbuck as Marilyn Kniffen *

Maree Cheatham Maree Cheatham (also credited as Marie Cheatham, born June 2, 1940) is an American actress, who is known for her performances on the daytime soap operas '' Days of Our Lives'' (1965–68, 1970–71, 1973, 1994, 1996, 2010), ''Search for Tomorrow' ...

as Corene Oliver * Ryan Wilson as Brian Kniffen (age 6) * Cody Dorkin as Brandon Wilson (age 9) * Scott Bailey as Brandon Kniffen (age 15–21) * Gregory Smith as Brian Kniffen (age 16–18)

Reception

The film was called "one of the most powerful stories of injustice you will ever see" on ''The Movie Scene''. It airs sporadically on the

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 ...

. Due to its television release date coinciding the following day with the September 11th Attacks, the film received little attention until its DVD release in 2002, after which it was nominated for The American Society of Cinematographers Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Movies of the Week/Mini-Series/Pilot (Basic or Pay).

References

External links

* * {{cite web , title=Just Ask My Children , url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/just_ask_my_children , work= Rotten Tomatoes Lifetime (TV network) films 2001 television films 2001 films Crime television films Crime films based on actual events Films about child sexual abuse Films about child abuse Films about miscarriage of justice Films set in the 1980s Films set in 1982 Films set in 1984 Films set in the 1990s Films set in 1996