https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_One_Would_Tell
"No One Would Tell" apparently aired in 1996. The review I saw for it was from May. But, I don't know the exact day. It was remade for lifetime in September of 2018. The movie sticks with me yet I never remembered when I saw it.
It was a message for my generation. Two kids we connected with most. Kids who taught us so many lessons on "Full House" and "The Wonder Years" were teaching us a more adult lesson. This time, it was about how to identify an abusive relationship.
Based on a real story, Jamie Fuller, a 16-year-old high school student who murdered his 14-year-old girlfriend, Amy Carnevale, on August 23, 1991. Candace Cameron plays Stacy Collins and Fred Savage plays Bobby Tennison. I will type what I remember. The details are in the Wikipedia link above.
Stacy loves Bobby and eventually gets his attention. They start dating and he becomes rough with her and possessive. In one scene she is buying a short skirt and tells her best friend that they had sex. When Bobby sees her, he calls her a slut and she says "I am just showing off what's yours".
Even when I first saw that I was surprised. Women aren't property. She doesn't belong to him. But, he has convinced her that she does belong to him. There are other scenes like that. Where he is rough and possessive.
Then she takes a shower. This is the part that flashes through my mind the most. The camera shows the many bruises on her body while she showers. The physical toll of an abusive relationship. They break up and remain friends. One day he asks her to come over to give him a haircut. She did.
When they were near a lake and they got into his truck after the haircut, I had to turn it off. That "something bad is about to happen" music came on. My anxiety prevented me from seeing what was about to happen. I can't see DJ Tanner dead knowing Kevin Arnold killed her! I put in red Wikipedia's summary of what happens next. It turns out I had good timing.
Later that night, Bobby, accompanied by an acquaintance, Vince Fortner, convinces Stacy to get into his car for a ride. He drives to the lake and walks off with her to be alone. The next day, it is reported that Stacy is missing. Most people guess that she hitchhiked and was murdered, but Laura suspects that Bobby has something to do with it especially after she finds Stacy's purse in his room. Nicki is also convinced that he is responsible for her disappearance and asks Carla, a witness on the night that she disappeared, for information. Her reluctance to tell what happened frustrates Nicki. Accompanied by Laura, Nicki goes to the police, informing Laura and Detective Anderson how abusive Stacy's relationship with Bobby was. Carla eventually talks to them as well, admitting that Bobby and Vince took Stacy to the lake.
Bobby and Vince are arrested and Bobby blames Stacy's disappearance on Vince. When confronted by this lie, Vince admits that Bobby was the one last seen with her, and later reveals that when he came back alone, he said that "if he can't have her, no one's gonna". Vince was free to go, since he told Detective Anderson the truth, that he didn't know if Bobby killed Stacy. Detective Anderson is then convinced Bobby killed her when she ended the relationship and refused to get back together. When he confronts him, he realized he was cornered and shortly admits that he slit her throat when she refused to get back together with him and then disposed of her body in the lake.
Stacy's body is soon found in the lake, wrapped in a trash bag with duct tape, and tied down with cinder blocks. Laura and Nicki grieve together. A court trial soon follows with the district attorney asking everyone if they ever saw him hit her. Carla says she did, but that it was because Stacy wouldn't listen to him. Donna and other classmates also admit that they witnessed the abuse, but figured she would leave him eventually.
It's a lesson about abuse. Look for the signs. Don't just explain away abusive behavior from a loved one. In the real news I read stories like this all of the time. "If I can't have her, no one can". Abusers harass their victims and the partners of their victims. "If you see something, say something". That applies to domestic violence too.
It was a risky roll for Fred Savage. He was so beloved. Kevin Arnold was a regular kid. This was a dark roll. I don't know his answer. I can't ask him. But, I think he did it for the exact reason the movie was made. To educate my generation on what abusive relationships look like. To show what the signs are. To be the example for the boys my age about what happens when you are abusive and possessive.
A small made-for-tv PSA movie. With just the right cast and just the right script. There are a lot more stories just like this. I don't know why Jamie and Amy's is the one the decided to tell. But, I hope it's a lesson most of us learned. Below is a link for the domestic abuse hotline. If someone you love is always hurting you with words or physical actions and apologizing later, call because that is abuse and you deserve better! In green is from "Psychology Today":
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/domestic-violence
Dealing With Domestic Violence
Domestic violence is destructive for both the battered and the batterer. Its tendency to be passed down over generations makes it all the more important that we develop effective methods for combating abusive behaviors. Domestic violence can be physical or psychological, and it can affect anyone of any age, gender, race, or sexual orientation. It may include behaviors meant to scare, physically harm, or control a partner. While every relationship is different, domestic violence generally involves an unequal power dynamic in which one partner tries to assert control over the other in a variety of ways. Examples include insults and threats, emotional abuse, and sexual coercion. Some perpetrators may even use children, pets, or other family members as emotional leverage to get the victim to do what they want. Victims experience diminished self-worth, anxiety, depression, and a general sense of helplessness that can take time and often professional help to overcome.
The Hotline
https://www.thehotline.org/
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