Oprah's Book Clubbers, beware: This TV movie is not notably faithful to the Sue Miller novel on which it's based. The film sacrifices some of the book's moral and psychological complexity, but there's enough left over to keep things interesting.
Kirstie Alley stars as Jo, a middle-aged veterinarian who appears contentedly married to Daniel (Bill Smitrovich), an admired minister in their small New England town. Jo feels vaguely dissatisfied, though, and she's in a vulnerable state of mind when she crosses paths with Eli (Peter Horton), one of her housemates back in the free-and-easy early '70s. Jo and Eli weren't sexually involved in the old days, but she's inclined to have an affair this time—until he confesses a shocking secret that she feels compelled to expose.
It takes a long time for the plot to gain traction, and the filmmakers wrongly assume that the flashbacks to Jo's bohemian period will seem plausible just because they're grainy. But Alley is convincing as a woman suddenly besieged by uncertainties, Smitrovich does well as the husband hurt by her intent to betray him, and Horton skillfully portrays Eli as both tormented and insensitive.
