Most of the story in Julie Dillon’s movie “Only Mine” is fictional. However, the person behind the inspiration for this film, Laura Kucera, is a real person. She was only 20 years old when her ex-boyfriend at the time shot her three times. He left her stranded in the wilderness. Here, I will tell you more about the actual event and my thoughts on the movie. “Only Mine” is streaming on Netflix and its real-life connection.
Is This A True Story?
The movie “Only Mine” tells the story of Julie. You might recognize her if you’ve seen “14 Cameras” or the TV series “Legion”. It starts off like any other story with a chance encounter between Julie and David, a local police officer. When warning signs begin to show, Julie ends things with the young cop, but will he leave her alone? Julie senses that her new boyfriend has a few red flags. All the events depicted in the movie are based on a true story. For more details on what happened to the real Laura, refer to the end of the review.
Only Mine Netflix Explained
I must admit, the “Only Mine” movie boasts an array of crime movie tropes ingrained within its narrative. This might lead some to deem it as somewhat lacking in originality. The film features cliché police characters. It also has predictable alibis. One could even create a game out of spotting common plot devices typically employed in made-for-TV films like this. Nevertheless, I found myself oddly engrossed, unable to look away from the screen.
It begins in a rushed manner but gets straight to the interesting part instead of dragging out the story. The main plot of Only Mine unfolds when David starts displaying very stalker-ish behaviors. Julie is seemingly a random victim. Before everything falls apart, the two are happily dating. David becomes increasingly dangerous.
Julie Dillon and David meet when he, a small-town cop, pulls her over for speeding. He lets her off with a warning, and there’s a sense that they like each other. Following the typical small-town dynamics in movies, he “coincidentally” shows up at the diner where she works. Julie asks David out on a date. However, his behavior becomes a cause for concern fairly early on in the relationship.
The Real Julie Dillon, Based on True Story
The real-life information used to propel Only Mine is very liberal in its truthfulness. I could find information about the original person that Julie Dillon is based on. Her name is Laura Kucera. The two were not boyfriend and girlfriend. The guy David is based on is Brian. He was sentenced to 55 years for attempted kidnapping. He was also sentenced for using a firearm to commit a felony. The judge told him he was a bully and a coward for shooting a 20-year-old 3 times. His last words reflected her as he did so in the film;
“If I can’t have you nobody else will”
Brian – quote from the movie Only Mine on Netflix
Only Mine Based On Real Events
After only one date, David immerses himself in every facet of Julie’s life. She quickly finds herself in stalker-town. The Only Mine movie starts with David being in her house prior to her arrival home. He gives her a present that seems meaningful to him. Then, while babysitting for her best friend, Julie, well, babysits. She reads a book and doesn’t look at her phone. Much to David’s utter reprehension, he turns up almost beating the door down, and requests kindly that he always knows where she is.
It doesn’t matter that the props used to allow David to get away with his behavior are flimsy at best. For example, the chief of the police station thinks of David as a son. The receptionist secretly crushes on him and is over eager to drop Julie in trouble to get her way. The story moves along at the pace of a freight train, pinning Julie under it. I’m certain anyone who’s been the victim of harassment will find something in common with parts of the storyline. I’m not saying it’s eloquent or great writing, but for some sick reason, I enjoyed it. Kind of like my secret habit of watching daytime soaps, the drama man, the drama is good.
Need more movies with a true story claim? Watch Society of the Snow, Girls to Buy,or Holes in the Sky next
In the “Only Mine” ending, we see Julie left to die in the wilderness. That’s exactly what happened to Laura Dillon too. The difference in events lies in the lead-up to that very tense finale. In the film, Julie uses her strength to avenge her stalker and kills him. In the real story, Laura is only found because Brian led the police to her injured body. Somewhat similar to the way the detective followed David to the scene of the crime perhaps? In any case, both the fictional and real person were left to die in the cold for four days.
Only Mine Movie
I loved the way the film was carried as almost a quasi-documentary follow-up by an unseen camera person. The mini-interviews with characters in the movie were a nice touch that gave it that extra realism. The Only Mine cast was above average as far as performance goes with Amber Midthunder (The Ice Road) a highlight. This film is getting crushed in the ratings on IMBd.com but sits on the fence with a 4.7/10. I guess not everyone is as forgiving of the finite details.
The thing is, in the real story it looks as though Brad knew Laura for even less time before stalking her, and he wasn’t a cop. In hindsight, having David be a cop, makes the movie less believable in many ways. But impact-wise in a film, it gives the story more bones to work with.
I still liked this one, and I liked the folklore element added by the mother in the film about internal strength. Even if the real-life person almost didn’t survive, she spent 55 days in the hospital and, lost most of the use of her arms and legs. She did learn to walk again with difficulty after a lot of rehabilitation. Overall, even with faults, I’m glad Only Mine based on actual events was made.
What Happened to the Real Laura? Only Mine Is A True Story
Tragically, a year after this all happened, Laura had a car accident and died. She was 21 at the time and on her way to visit her grandmother.
Only Mine Movie is rated
3.5 ballerina music boxes out of 5
