FINDING NICOLE

Directed by: Harley Wallen

Starring: Kaiti Wallen, Richard Tyson, Shawntay Dalon, Mari G, Sean Whalen

Based on the true story of Nicole Beverly and her fight to bring her abusive, violent husband to justice.

Prolific director Harley Wallen delves into a true crime case and delivers a story full of drama and emotion, with this account of Nicole Beverly, who suffered at the hands of her husband Warren and struggled to have her voice heard.

Things are heavily stacked against Nicole, through no fault of her own. Her husband, Warren (Mari G) is an ex-police officer who still has friends on the force - some of whom are called out to the house when Nicole calls 911. Its difficult for such people to associate a colleague with domestic assault, especially as Warren is charming and eloquent, and able to remain calm while Nicole is visibly stressed out. He is able to initially sweet-talk his wife with the usual platitudes about wanting to change his ways but she soon finds out he's full of hot air.

We, of course, know differently, as we see the physical abuse laid upon Nicole and threatened upon their kids. We see his sadistic nature when he kills an injured bird in front of his son, then goes to attack him when his kid screams and cries. Its frustrating for the viewer, to then see how the police and judicial system treat Nicole as if she's just hysterical and blowing everything out of proportion. At one point the defence lawyer, Cameron Banks (Sean Whalen) tries to downplay Warren's offences to "a few phone calls", and it is down to Nicole's own feisty lawyer Shonda Wright, esp (Shawntay Tyson), to point out that Warren called Nicole 183 times, in the space of a month.

Nicole Beverly herself is credited as one of the writers for this film (alongside director Harley Wallen and Geoffrey D. Calhoun) which gives the events a certain voracity. The film flits between the courtroom (Warren was already sentenced for violating his Personal Protection Order (PPO) and deals with adding domestic abuse charges) and significant moments where Warren was terrorising her. The courtroom drama is well-handled without being overly melodramatic.

Harley Wallen’s wife, Kaiti, delivers a strong performance, selling both the fear and resilience of the character. At one point, she almost goes into Witness Protection, but relents at the last minute, in a powerful scene of defiance. Richard Tyson had also appeared in Eternal Code and Betrayed. Here he's almost unrecognisable as the judge presiding the case.

 However it is Mari G. who owns the film. He doesn’t make Warren a comic-book villain, but someone who is deeply troubled, insecure and prone to lash out. He is the devil with the charming grin, fooling nearly everyone until the evidence is undeniable, but every time he’s on screen you know things could get ugly for Nicole and anyone close to her.

THE VERDICT

Finding Nicole is an emotional film which is likely to trigger many people who have survived or are still having to endure domestic assault. The film does a good job of portraying a flawed justice system which seems stacked against the victims. However, despite the grim statistics provided at the end, the film triumphs the perseverance and determination of Nicole Beverly and the hope that her story will inspire others to speak out.

7 out of 10

MIKEOUTWEST