Summary
This docudrama is based on the life of Marlene Moore, who in 1998 became the first woman in Canada to be designated a "dangerous offender". The film is a sympathetic portrayal of Moore, who committed suicide in Prison for Women, and seeks to explain both her criminal career and her decision to take her own life. As played by Brooke Johnson, Moore is shown as an awkward, withdrawn young girl, emotionally and sexually abused by family and peers alike, and never afforded the moral support or mental-health treatment she needed. Under these circumstances, her subsequent self-destructive, sociopathic behavior seems almost predestined, and her many years behind bars for various minor crimes a logical extension of her miserable upbringing. The film also shows her lawyer’s efforts to prevent Moore’s designation as a dangerous offender.