Beth Cumberland (Natalie Dreyfuss) was the main villainess from the 2020 Lifetime film, Dying to Be You (alternately titled, Poison Pen Pal; airdate February 29, 2020).
Backstory[]
Beth Cumberland was the sister of Molly Cumberland, who was the longtime pen pal of main protagonist Lily Anderson. Lily and Molly's long distance friendship started when both girls were in fourth grade; but as time went by, Beth became insanely jealous of Molly, feeling that their parents never noticed her and that she was overshadowed by Molly. Beth turned heel eight years prior to the events when she drowned Molly in her bathtub (shown in the film's opening), and spent the following years posing as Molly and continuing to send letters to Lily.
Events[]
At Lily's 25th birthday party, Beth appeared and introduced herself as Molly, with Lily expressing her elation over seeing her longtime pen pal. On the following day, Lily took Molly to her workplace, Emory Design Group, where she was reintroduced to Lily's boss, Gordon Emory, with Molly claiming to be an interior designer. Molly continued making a charming impression on Lily's boyfriend, Matthew Jansen, as well as Lily's mother, Ellen, though Lily noticed an inconsistency regarding one of their letters. When asked about family, Molly claimed that her parents, Robert and Catherine, had moved, and regarding Beth (who both girls referred to as "annoying"), Molly stated that she went to Thailand to find herself.
Molly's appearance was met with suspicion by Lily's neighbor, Mrs. Blankenship, and it was later in the film that Molly appeared to Lily while she was bathing, claiming that her ex-boyfriend, Brandon, found her phone number and was obsessed with attempting to get back with her. While Lily was preoccupied, Molly took Lily's phone and sent a text to Matthew telling him to touch her under the table during their date, which Matthew does, leading to the pair engaging in a passionate tryst at Matthew's place. It was there that Molly watched and later enticed Matthew into kissing her, as Matthew thought she was Lily due to her long hair. After Molly revealed herself, she played innocent when Lily walked in, leading to Matthew being ejected.
The villainess later sent text messages as Lily, telling Matthew that it was over, and the next day had Lily being informed by Gordon that Molly was hired to work with Lily, who voiced her astonishment over Molly's latest actions and informed her that she should find her own place. Meanwhile, Molly kept Matthew from seeing Lily, who later went to Matthew's place and wrote a letter at his door asking him to meet her. However, Molly was already inside, having stabbed Matthew to death multiple times, while also leaving the letter next to him. Lily was horrified when a pair of detectives informed her about Matthew's death, and regarding Molly, she falsely claimed to the pair that Matthew made passes at her, which she turned down due to her loyalty to Lily.
Reveal & Death[]
Beth revealing her true identity to Lily
Molly later comforted Lily regarding Matthew, after which Lily sent a text to Molly's parents regarding their daughter. Her claim that Mrs. Blankenship was growing on her was actually a result of the villainess attacking the elderly neighbor and tying her up, and regarding Lily, she received a scathing response accusing her of pretending that Molly was alive, leading to Lily doing an online search for Molly. Lily learned the truth: the actual Molly Cumberland drowned in her bathtub years prior, and as for "Molly," Gordon became suspicious of her when she found that her "designs" where the exact copy of her employers.
Lily went to Mrs. Blakenship's apartment and untied her, only to be attacked and tied up herself by "Molly," who later revealed herself as Beth Cumberland, Molly's sister. The psychotic villainess stated that she made up Brandon and later praised Lily for figuring out that she wasn't Molly. In addition, the evil Beth lashed out and accused her parents, her sister, and even Lily of making her feel invisible, while stating that she had no intentions of living in Molly's shadow and that she had no choice but to kill Molly. Regarding Matthew's murder, the maniacal villainess claimed that she killed Matthew for Lily's benefit, stating that Matthew was going to break her heart.
All the while, Gordon was at Mrs. Blankenship's door, as he had also figured out that "Molly" was an impostor. Gordon barged past Beth and entered, only to end up stabbed (non-fatally) by Beth. Lily freed herself from her capture and brawled with Beth, who ended up disarmed in the process. The villainess retrieved her knife and attempted to kill Lily in an attempt to stop her from escaping and revealing her true evil nature, only for Lily to grab a shard of the glass cookie jar that Beth had used to knock her out and plunge it in Beth's throat, killing her instantly. Beth's death and exposure of her true self and crimes also led to the complete destruction of Beth's goal of attempting to be remembered as a good person like her sister Molly, as Beth will instead now be remembered for what she truly was: a monster who lashed out and killed people, once again causing Beth to live in the shadow of Molly forever, a fitting comeuppance for all the atrocities Beth committed.
Victims[]
- Molly Cumberland (drowned to death)
- Matthew Jensen (stabbed to death)
- Gordon Emory (stabbed but survived)
- Lily Anderson (attempted and failed, Lily stabs Beth to death)
Trivia[]
- This was Natalie Dreyfuss's first Lifetime film overall and her first villainous film role as well.
Gallery[]
