Review of Mockingbird Don't Sing (2001) by Erin H — 03 Oct 2008

Heartbreaking (true!) story about a child whom the system failed miserably. The sytem that should have protected and nurtured her broke down at every point, and the one person who cared about her and saw the person she could become was cut off and ultimately banished from her life.

Production values however remind this viewer of a 1970s made-for-TV movie. The girl who plays the "wild child" (Tara Steele) is phenomenal. Ms Errico is empathetic as the social worker who was assigned to document her progress and who became captivated by the frightened human being who was beginning to learn how to cope.

The rest of the cast was standard stereotype. I wish I could say that something like this could not happen today, that our ability to care for severely damaged children has improved and the system is designed to managed these cases more humanely.

I wish that were true. I will give it three stars because of the powerful emotions it engendered, but it could have been done so much better.