Seduced By Madness
| Seduced by Madness: The Diane Borchardt Story | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Crime Drama Thriller |
| Written by | Carmen Culver |
| Directed by | John Patterson |
| Starring |
Ann-Margret Peter Coyote Leslie Hope Christian Campbell Hedy Burress Tobey Maguire Freddy Rodríguez |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | David R. Elliott Brooke Kennedy Brian Pike |
| Running time | 200 min. |
| Distributor | Brian Pike Productions Ann Margret Productions |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release |
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Seduced by Madness: The Diane Borchardt Story is an American television film based roughly on real-life events. It recounts the story of Wisconsin teacher Diane Borchardt, who hired teen students first to spy on her cheating husband and later to kill him. The film begins with the murder then traces in flashback the events leading up to it, followed by the subsequent police investigation leading to arrests and eventual murder convictions of both Borchardt and the teens.
The film opens with three teenage boys pulling up to the house of Ruben Borchardt (Peter Coyote) early on Easter Sunday in 1994. They break into Ruben's house armed with a shotgun, intending to kill Ruben on the promise of payment. Gathering at the top of the basement steps where Ruben sleeps, the boys draw their shotgun and shoot Mr. Borchardt as he makes his way up the stairs. Having carried out their deed, the three boys flee the scene.
The film cuts to seven months before the shooting, during the Fall of 1993. Diane Kay Borchardt (Ann-Margret) is a seemingly ordinary schoolteacher with a normal life. She has a loving husband, three children, and a lovely house. However, it quickly becomes apparent that she harbors deep mental instability and possible psychosis. While she dotes on and spoils her daughter Regan, she is emotionally and physically abusive towards Ruben and his two children, Brook (Hedy Burress) and Chuck (Tobey Maguire). Ruben married Diane fourteen years prior after his beloved wife Susan (Cynthia Lynch) died in a car crash when Brook and Chuck were young. Realizing his children needed a mother figure in their lives, Ruben married to Diane, only to find himself in a loveless marriage in which Diane constantly abuses him.
One day, Ruben goes to a neighbor's house to help him remodel his kitchen, as he is a work-at-home carpenter. There he gets reacquainted with Claire Brown (Leslie Hope), whom he works together with to remodel the kitchen. During the remodeling, Ruben and Claire share their personal stories with each other, becoming increasingly close friends as the project goes on.
Later that day, Ruben drops by Diane's clothes shop on account of the fact that Diane failed to pay for Chuck's new glasses, as she had spent it on new shoes for Regan despite previously agreeing to buy the glasses. Diane then accuses Ruben of spoiling his own children and neglecting Regan, and says that he ought to be making more money. Ruben tries to reason with Diane when suddenly, without provocation, Diane hits him in the head with a label gun. Ruben later admits to Claire that his marriage was a mistake. Claire also reveals that she and her husband have also grown apart in recent years. When the project is finished, Ruben admits his true feelings for Claire, and kisses her on impulse. He then leaves her confused, only to return and this time, the two proceed to kiss each other passionately. Upon realizing their feelings for each other, Claire and Ruben start meeting each other secretly, and contemplate leaving their spouses in order to marry. Although Ruben is a devout Christian who opposes divorce, his feelings for Claire remain strong and says he believes they can make it work. Claire agrees to make a decision when she is ready.
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