Marie (1985)

A single mother (Sissy Spacek) with three children goes back to college to get a degree and eventually becomes the head of the Tennessee parole board. But the governor's office is corrupt and accepts bribes for clemency pardons and paroles. Eventually, she is fired for not playing ball but instead of accepting it, she fights back. Based on the non fiction book by Peter Maas which tells the true story of Marie Ragghianti, a woman who exposed corruption in the Tennessee legal system and whose subsequent actions including a court trial for wrongful dismissal sent several people including the governor (Don Hood) to prison. It's a pretty dramatic and juicy story but director Roger Donaldson (NO WAY OUT) and his screenwriter John Briley (an Oscar winner for his GANDHI screenplay) offer up a nondescript TV movie. The court trial which should be the centerpiece of the film is shockingly tepid. Steven Soderbergh showed how to handle a similar subject the right way with ERIN BROCKOVICH. Sissy Spacek tries in the title role but it's underwritten. Francis Lai composed the subtly effective score. With Morgan Freeman, Jeff Daniels, John Cullum and playing himself, Fred Dalton Thompson who was Marie's attorney before embarking on an acting career and the U.S. Senate.