Based on a true story, Lifetime’s new movie “Love You to Death,” reenacts the unfortunate circumstances of Gypsy Blanchard, who was medically misdiagnosed and held prisoner in her own childhood home.
What makes this situation even more horrific is that these acts were committed by Gypsy’s own mother.
Clauddine “DeeDee” Blanchard, Gypsy’s mother, suffered from factitious disorder imposed on another (FDIA), originally known as Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSP), which, by definition, “is a mental illness in which a person acts as if an individual he or she is caring for has a physical or mental illness when the person is not really sick,” according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Due to this condition, DeeDee portrayed her own daughter as ill to the public, forcing Gypsy to remain in a wheelchair, eat from a feeding tube, keep her head completely shaven and undergo unnecessary operations, to list a few. Due to this way of life, Gypsy felt her only way to escape was to commit homicide, killing her own mother.
While a violent crime such as this would almost always lead the perpetrator to life in prison, because of Gypsy’s unusual circumstances, she is currently only serving a 10-year sentence.
The film itself did an outstanding job in telling the tragic story of Gypsy Blanchard. This very well may have been due in part to the incredible cast. Oscar and Tony award-winning actress Marcia Gay Harden was nothing short of spectacular in her role as Camile Stoller, who was Lifetime’s take on Clauddine “DeeDee” Blanchard. Harden’s capability to embody such an unseemly, sinister character is something definitely worth watching. Tony-nominated actress Emily Skeggs played the character of Esme Stoller, based on the real-life Gypsy Blanchard.
Both Harden and Skeggs, amongst many other great actors in the film, fostered a relationship like none other, truly encompassing the acts of manipulation that occurred day in and day out.
On the subject of manipulation, it was very frightening to watch the ways in which Camile misconstrued the truth so cleverly to make it fit her narrative. She loved to receive sympathy from others, often seeking it out by taking advantage of charities and nonprofits.
Lies, deception and deceit were practically part of Camile’s daily routine. As for Esme, she was expected to simply follow along … well, that is, until she hit her breaking point.
In short, this movie should certainly be on everyone’s bucket list. “Love You to Death” not only uncovers the sad, but true, story of Gypsy Blanchard, but also offers it from different viewpoints. The case of Gypsy Blanchard provides a twisted definition of what it means to love someone to death.
