There’s a power in the casting of No One Would Tell (1996) that might be lost on younger viewers, but for children of the ’80s and ’90s, Kevin Arnold abusing D.J. Tanner was about as shocking as “Beaver” Cleaver giving Gidget a black eye. Based on the chilling true story of 14-year-old Amy Carnevale’s murder at the hands of her high school boyfriend, it stars Fred Savage as senior Bobby Tennison, a standout wrestler who can’t control his anger when girlfriend Stacy Collins (Candace Cameron) acknowledges the existence of anyone who isn’t him.
His rages — and her hidden bruises — multiply each time she laughs with pals, wears a miniskirt in public or exchanges pleasantries with male classmates. “Yeah, so he gets a little jealous, OK? Guys are like that,” she tells worried friend Nicki (Heather McComb). It’s a lesson she picked up at home, where mother Laura (Michelle Phillips) excuses the controlling behavior of boyfriend Rod (Paul Linke) despite Stacy’s concerns. After lashing out physically, Bobby turns into the domestic violence version of a Fisher-Price See ‘n Say.
You remember those old toys, where you pulled a lever to spin a wheel that landed on a farm animal, and out came a “Moo” or “Baa” noise? That’s Bobby asking “Why’d you have to get me so mad?” or “Great, you happy now?” following each new outburst. But none of it deters Stacy from wearing his letterman’s jacket. They make up as frequently as they break up, and most of his abuse occurs in public, before witnesses who rarely intervene. “OK,” his coach sighs uncomfortably following a scuffle in the gymnasium, when a teary Stacy is quick to defend him. “From now on, you save that spirit for the team.”
No One Would Tell, written by Steven Loring and directed by Noel Nosseck, wasn’t the only made-for-TV movie to spotlight abusive relationships between young adults in 1996; so did Tori Spelling’s campy Mother, May I Sleep with Danger? Nor was it the only ’90s telefilm to tackle teens who kill: Kellie Martin’s Death of a Cheerleader (1994) was also based on actual events. What sets No One Would Tell apart from those titles is its realism — the violence isn’t suspenseful or titillating, it’s sudden and stomach-churning — and how seriously it takes Bobby’s crimes.
“You call that love? I don’t even think he likes you,” Nicki tells Stacy after an altercation at a school dance, and what a relief it was for someone to finally say it. McComb nearly walks off with the movie as its moral conscience, acting circles around Justina Machado (One Day at a Time) and the over-the-hill collection of actors playing Bobby’s friends (minus Eric Balfour, who is fine in a thankless role). Phillips, too, is good as a parent who learns too late the perils of behaving more like your child’s friend than her mother.
Cameron eventually found a niche in less dramatically challenging work (see: A Shoe Addict’s Christmas), but she’s affecting here as a teen who, by her own admission, never felt special until she became “the most important thing in the world” to Bobby. Savage, whose earnestness on The Wonder Years annoyed me at times as a kid (yes, I was cranky even then), portrays a genuinely convincing monster, and he and Cameron work quite well together. No One Would Tell doesn’t play like a teen movie, even though it’s set in a high school. In its writing, direction and acting, it’s better than many telefilms with more sophisticated pedigrees. And, unfortunately, it doesn’t feel even slightly dated even though there’s nary a smartphone in sight. One question, though — what’s with Sally Jessy Raphael’s cameo as a judge?
Streaming and DVD availability
No One Would Tell is out-of-print on DVD. It currently streams free at Tubi, Crackle and on YouTube (via Lifetime’s YouTube channel).
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Cranky Lesbian is a disgruntled homosexual with too much time on her hands. Click for film reviews or to follow on Instagram.
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