With the upcoming Valentine’s Day holiday arriving on February 14, it’s important to remember that not everyone will celebrate this occasion with a heart full of love. Across the world, many silent victims are enduring a vicious cycle of domestic violence. Lifetime’s new original film, Death Saved My Life, premieres Saturday, February 13 through Lifetime at 8/7c and will speak to an audience that will either identify with the characters or hopefully become empathetic to the struggle of abuse.
Starring in the film is actress Meagan Good who portrays the role of Jade, a beautiful endearing wife/mother who, on the outside, appears to have it all. While being married to her husband Ed (Chike Okonkwo), a successful heart surgeon who is well respected in the community, the audience will view a monster that lurks behind closed doors. After attending a virtual press conference in the film, a majority of the press can agree that actor Chike Okonkwo did a hell of a job convincing us to dislike him throughout the film’s entirety.
One famous costar that also makes a significant impact in the film is Jade’s (Meagan Good) sister Leigh (La’Myia Good), who is dealing with a mental illness in the form of Bipolar disorder. Domestic violence and mental illness dynamics in this production are important messages that the actors hope will spark a healthy dialogue among the African American community.
Acting as sisters on film is an effortless experience for Jade (Meagan Good) and Leigh (La’Miya Good) since they are blood sisters in real life. La’Miya Good beamed with joy as she discussed the pure bliss of acting alongside her sister and spending time together to eat, talk, and enjoy the opportunity in which work becomes play. Because of the horrific nature of the story pulling upon their emotional heartstrings, Meagan and La’Miya shared that after the kitchen’s confession scene, the sisters went back to their trailer and let out a good cry releasing the tension from that decisive moment in the movie.
Death Saved My Life is based upon real events, but the characters are fictional. Meagan explained that for her portrayal as Jade, she leaned on her experience with a friend who suffered domestic violence. “I stopped getting angry with her,” Meagan stated when encouraging her friend to leave an abuser. “But I had to understand, place myself in her shoes and be there for her when she needed me.”
Overall, Death Saved My Life is a noteworthy film that displays some surprises. One revelation I discovered when I thought to myself, “Why did she leave her child?” For Jade to save her daughter, she first had to rescue herself.
May all who witness this film be inspired to find courage when needed and recognize, “Anything is better than where you are now.”
FILM CLIP
ABOUT DEATH SAVED MY LIFE
On the surface it seems Jade (Meagan Good) has it all, a successful marketing career, a husband admired and respected in the community, and a young daughter they both dote on. But behind closed doors, her life is far from idyllic. Her husband Ed (Chiké Okonkwo) is a controlling man who is physically and psychologically abusive. When Jade decides to leave Ed, he tells her “If I can’t have you, nobody will,” a threat which becomes very real when she discovers he has hired someone to kill her. Knowing no one will believe her, Jade realizes the only way to escape Ed is to make him believe the hitman completed the job and that she is dead. La’Myia Good plays Jade’s sister Leigh.
Death Saved My Life is produced by Jarrett Creative. Executive producers are Julie Insogna Jarrett, Seth Jarrett and Meagan Good. Seth Jarrett directs from a script written by Barbara Kymlicka. The film will air as part of Lifetime’s popular Ripped from the Headlines slate.
