Claire Palmer (Barbara Williams) is the main villainess of the 2019 Lifetime film Murder In-Law (alternately titled The Mother-in-Law; airdate March 15, 2019). Introduced as the wife of retired detective Bruce Palmer and the mother of their only son, Jim Palmer, she secretly desired to keep the latter and her granddaughter to herself for the rest of her life.
Introduction[]
The film began with the Palmers dining together, with Claire unleashing her habitual criticism of Jim's wife, Allison Palmer (the film's main protagonist). During the meal, Jim and Allison announced that the latter received a promotion and that they would be moving to New York City in the summer, with Claire sitting silently while Bruce responded happily to the news. After dinner, Claire stared longingly at a photo of herself with Jim, with Bruce telling his wife that everything would be fine, while joking that Jim belonged to Allison now. He stated that it would just be the two of them alone, and he suggested a night of passion for them, with Claire seemingly agreeing.
Heel Turn[]
Claire murdering Bruce
Bruce knocked on the bedroom door and asked his wife if she was decent, but right after it was opened, the latter turned heel and shoved her husband down a flight of stairs, killing him in seconds. Following the murder, Claire placed Bruce's body inside the freezer, and later went to Jim and Allison's home sobbing over her late husband, claiming that he had left her for another woman. Her deception brought out Jim's sympathy, as he and Sydney (the couple's teenage daughter) allowed Claire to stay with them, with Allison reluctantly consenting to the arrangement. After that, the protagonist was subject to more of Claire's criticism, and furthermore, she would "sleepwalk" into her and Jim's room when they were attempting to make love.
The villainess continued her ruse when speaking to Will (Bruce's former partner on the force), painting him as a cheating husband before asking him to look into Allison's friend Charlie, who she assumed was a man at the time. She also ran into Mariah, Jim's ex-girlfriend, and expressed her happiness over seeing her before setting up a dinner date between her and Jim. Allison had been venting to Charlie over Claire's behavior, and later on, she politely informed the deranged criminal about her stay at the house and made a suggestion that she should adapt to their routine. Later on, however, Claire packed her bags and made a scene in front of Jim and Sydney, making a claim that Allison was kicking her out and feigning tears, with father and daughter coming to her emotional aid. She then continued her evil manipulation when she talked to Sydney about the move, stating that she could be bullied as a new student at a high school, making her worry about it.
Claire visited Charlie and introduced herself as Marilyn, claiming that she used to live at her house. After entering, Claire cryptically revealed her true colors by venting over her hatred of Allison (referring to her as ungrateful and disrespectful) before disclosing her identity. Charlie realized she was talking to her friend's mother-in-law, who continued lashing out and stating that Allison wasn't appreciative over her planning their wedding, after which Charlie kicked her out. Furthermore, the evil Claire figured out that Charlie was having an affair with her pool boy Bradley, after which she blackmailed her into turning against her friend. While Claire listened over the phone with sadistic pleasure, Charlie lambasted the protagonist for her criticism—praising her mother-in-law while accusing Allison of being selfish and paranoid. Additionally, she invited Mariah into the house late one evening, with Allison catching Jim and his ex-girlfriend together before voicing her outrage over Claire's set-up. Even so, Claire attempted to frame her daughter-in-law as the one in the wrong by mentioning how Mariah had recently been diagnosed with a serious illness.
Climax/Arrest[]
Claire murdering Charlie
Later on, Claire visited Charlie's house once more, with the deranged woman bludgeoning Charlie to death with her meat tenderizer. Afterwards, Claire and Allison dined together in a confrontational manner, with the latter telling the former that she needed to treat her with respect if she wanted to stay in her home. Though Claire appeared to acquiesce, she was working on the final portion of her plan—to portray her daughter-in-law as a murderous psychopath. After calling Will and feigning panic over Allison, she armed herself with a knife and entered Allison's bedroom. This was followed by Claire chasing her and claiming that she was defending herself against her.
Though Allison fought off Claire, Will appeared and ended up being embraced by the "tearful" latter, who claimed that the former went crazy and threatened to kill her in the same fashion that she killed Charlie. As a result, the protagonist ended up being taken into custody and interrogated by the police. She denied her mother-in-law's statements and attempted to inform her husband that Claire was the mastermind behind everything, with Allison's proclamations of innocence initially falling on deaf ears since the villainess planted the aforementioned tenderizer in Allison's closet. After Jim approached his wife, Allison told him to go to his parents' house due to her suspicion that Claire had killed Bruce. Jim did so and discovered his father's corpse in the freezer—with the following day seeing him return to the house alongside his wife. Will was also present, as he had gone there to inform Claire that she was under arrest. The ruthless sadist's only response was to express despair over her broken china before being handcuffed and taken into custody.
Trivia[]
- Barbara Williams previously portrayed Muriel Walker in the 2013 film White House Down.
Gallery[]
