A House on Fire

This movie is a semi-fictionalized account of a true-life criminal case. Drs. Debora Green and Michael Farrar, married for 17 years, live happily middle-class in Kansas City, Missouri with their young-teen son Timothy Farrar and tween daughter Kelly Farrar. Deb and Mike met while they were doing their residencies together; at first Mike thought beautiful, brilliant Deb was out of his league, not realizing until their marriage that underneath she was socially unaware. Deb always aspired to greatness in all aspects of life; she was obsessed with scrapbooking vision boards of her perfect future, including photos of the specific mansion she wanted to own. Despite her brilliance, her career has seemingly stalled, partly because she feels she must take on the sole role of committed parent, and partly because her bedside manner just doesn't match her technical abilities. Meanwhile, Mike's career is heading for the next level: his superior tells him that he is in line for the Head of the Cardiology Department at the hospital where he and Deb both have practicing privileges. As Deb inches further and further away from perfection, she starts to exhibit erratic behavior, which some onlookers believe are signs of self-medicating substance abuse; then true mental-health problems, specifically possible bipolar disorder. These issues place a strain on her and Mike's marriage, as each states their opposing actions are in the best interest of the children, and in Deb's case, holistically for the family. Their story, specifically of this situation, is told in the immediate aftermath of "the incident", as both Deb and Mike are individually being questioned by the police.