Abhiroop Das
Helmed by Damián Romay, Lifetime’s ‘To Catch a Cheater‘ follows a trio of mothers whose lives are sent into disarray after their daughters participate in a so-called cheater’s pact. The morning after Hannah, Charli, and Meghan decide to flirt with each other’s boyfriends as a test, Hannah is found dead at the beach, with no explanation for what happened to her. Her mother, Monica, refuses to believe that it could be suicide, and instead begins looking for clues. However, every step she takes only alienates her from her friend circle, as the truth gets hazier by the day. Over the course of this mystery drama movie, Monica learns that Hannah’s death is the culmination of several societal wrongs that have piled up over the years, reflecting the darker side of society.
To Catch a Cheater is a Work of Fiction That Taps Into Several Contemporary Anxieties
‘To Catch a Cheater’ is a fictional story penned by writer Rachel Morton, and does not have a direct antecedent in any real-life event. While several Lifetime productions famously borrow from real-life cases, the same cannot be said about this movie. Instead, it draws much of its realism from how the creative team approaches the plot and how the actors bring it to life. In a conversation with Survived the Shows, actor Kate Watson, who plays Monica in the film, brought up how challenging it was to portray a mother who is in mourning. She noted that the film touches on a number of horrific realities, be it child bullying, online harassment, and how that can drastically alter a young person’s life, as we see in this story.
Much of the movie centers around Hannah’s death, and how Monica is left struggling for answers, and Watson pointed out that this feeling can also be observed in real life. “It’s really tough but very real but so many parents feel like it could be their fault,” the actor noted, adding that the emotional complexities of such a tragedy are where the film truly shines. While it may be an invented storyline, the writers nonetheless make use of this by carving out the emotional realism that such intense situations might lead to. Watson also revealed that she decided to use little to no make-up for her scenes, maintaining a realistic look of a grieving parent, and that applies to all the other details in the film as well.
To Catch a Cheater Fictionalizes the Real-Life Trend of Romantic Loyalty Tests
The broader premise of ‘To Catch a Cheater’ can be traced to a real-life phenomenon that has come to be known as a “loyalty test.” Generally, loyalty tests involve deliberately testing whether one’s partner is having an affair, often by having another person flirt with them to see if the partner reciprocates. The trend appears to have become popular on social media networks, and in the Lifetime film, we see its premise being flipped on its head. To that end, the movie can be interpreted to be a critique of this trend, as it highlights how this can lead to toxicity amongst partners. However, no singular instance of a real-life loyalty test seems to have inspired the chain of events that unfold on screen.
Notably, ‘To Catch a Cheater’ is also the name of a popular YouTube show, described as a scripted reality series following people suspected of committing adultery. While the series might not have a direct connection to the Lifetime movie, it is possible that the matching titles are an intentional decision on the writers’ end. Given that the YouTube series covers a myriad of fictional or semi-fictional instances of adultery, it is possible that the movie also draws vague inspiration from some of them, integrating them into the larger mesh. However, this is only the basis for a broader discourse in the movie about how a lack of transparency, both between parents and children and amongst children and teens, can lead to greater problems down the line.
Read More: To Catch a Cheater Ending Explained: Who Killed Hannah?
