Watch Custody of the Heart

Custody of the Heart is a 2000 television movie that stars Lorraine Bracco, Martin Donovan, and Dennis Boutsikaris. The movie is a heartrending and emotional story about a family's struggle with the aftermath of divorce and the custody battle that ensues. The film follows Diane (Lorraine Bracco), a successful lawyer and mother of two daughters. Diane and her husband Jack (Martin Donovan) are happily married and living the suburban dream until Jack's infidelities come to light. The revelation of Jack's cheating is the catalyst for their separation and subsequent divorce. The once-happy family is now broken, and the two daughters, Sydney (Jessica Pimentel) and Emma (Brianna Gentilella), are caught in the middle.

Diane is devastated by the breakup of her marriage, and the custody of her daughters becomes the most important thing to her. She hires an aggressive lawyer, Allen Grant (Dennis Boutsikaris), to ensure she gets custody of her daughters. Jack, on the other hand, has a different approach. He hires a mediator, Maggie Costello (Laura Harris), who works to find a compromise that will benefit both parties.

As the custody battle heats up, the children find themselves caught in the middle of their parents' war. Sydney struggles to deal with her father's infidelities and the feeling of being torn between her parents. Emma, the younger daughter, is confused and scared about the situation, and she just wants her family to be back together again.

The movie focuses on the emotional turmoil that the separation and divorce cause for the entire family. The scenes that depict the custody battle are particularly powerful, as they illustrate the lengths to which parents will go to ensure they get to keep their children. The situation even leads to allegations of child abuse, which further complicates matters.

Throughout the movie, the canny performances by the actors add to the impact of the story. Lorraine Bracco delivers an emotive and heart-wrenching portrayal of Diane, the mother who will stop at nothing to keep her children. Martin Donovan gives an equally poignant performance as Jack, the father who is trying to build a new life but is being pulled down by the specter of his past actions. Dennis Boutsikaris portrays Allen Grant, the ruthless lawyer who will do whatever it takes to make sure his client gets what they want. Laura Harris is excellent as Maggie Costello, the mediator who is trying to bring both parties to an agreement.

Custody of the Heart also explores the societal views of the time, which lean heavily in the favor of the mother when it comes to custody battles. The legal battles that Diane and Jack go through are brutal, and they highlight the harsh realities of divorce, especially when children are involved. The movie serves as a reminder that family law can be devastating and tends to pit two people who loved each other against each other.

In conclusion, Custody of the Heart is a poignant, honest, and entirely relatable portrayal of the heart-wrenching effects of divorce on a family. The excellent performances by the actors and the sensitive direction by David Burton Morris make this television movie worth watching. It's a movie that evokes different emotions in different people, and it is undeniably hard to watch at times because of its emotional depth, but it is also compelling to see the complexities of our emotional lives laid bare humanely. The movie captures the universal truth that adults often become their worst selves inside a custody battle, and that children inevitably get caught in the middle.

Custody of the Heart is a 2000 drama with a runtime of 1 hour and 31 minutes. It has received moderate reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 5.2.