Absolution

9 p.m. Monday, Sept. 11
Lifetime

Lifetime's new original movie, "Absolution," borrows from different genres -- the mystery, the personal journey and echoes of spiritual redemption -- and ends up looking pretty convincing, owing mostly to star Samantha Mathis' ability to pull the audience in and create a believable character.

Writer Bethany Rooney gives Mathis some good dialogue and director Holly Dale gives her plenty of angst that any good women's movie needs.

Mathis plays a journalist living in New York who returns to her rural Ohio hometown to investigate reports that a young man in a coma has incredible healing powers despite his condition -- powers that his mother is either exploiting or putting to good use to heal those with physical ailments. Mathis' character must investigate the truth (if there is such a thing) along with her own personal demons in returning home.

"Absolution's" intelligent script and leisurely pace eventually add up to some very smart entertainment. Dale takes her time building the suspense and along with it the main character's personal dilemmas. But it's Mathis who stands out most as a young woman with as much skepticism as spiritual faith trying to find the middle road.