Till Death Do Us Part: Madison Roland

Plot Synopsis
Till Death Do Us Part is a film that was produced in the year 2017. The film was
directed by Cristopher B. Stokes. The film revolves around Michael and Madison Roland. The
two are married and are living happily. The two are celebrating their first wedding anniversary
when Madison states that she is willing to have a child and build a family. Madison is obsessed
with the idea of having a kid that she buys baby clothes for a child that is not born. However, the
idea of having a kid and starting a family does not sit well with Michael. He becomes
increasingly irritated and decides to visit his mother’s grave. The disagreement about the baby
seems to have awoken his true character of being a psychopath. Michael does not seem bothered
by the fact that Madison quits employment and decides to be a full-time wife. However, Madison
discovers that Michael has been working towards not impregnating her by taking steroidal
testosterone.
Madison decides to confront Michael, but the confrontation blows up. Michael ends up
slapping Madison, and this results in Madison falling to the ground. Michael continues assaulting
her, and he sexually assaults her during an office party. Madison becomes pregnant, and she is
excited as she shows her friend a positive pregnancy test. Madison later starts working with
Chelsea although she keeps the arrangement secret. She starts airing her problems to Chelsea,
and in one of the conversations, the audience learns that Michael has been questioning the
paternity of the unborn child. She also shares with Chelsea the story of how abusive Michael has
become. Chelsea becomes increasingly concerned and implores Madison to seek the help of law

TILL DEATH DO US PART: MADISON ROLAND 3
enforcers. However, Madison is not willing to get police officers involved and instead tries to
explain why the abuse occurred.
Michael continues to physically and emotionally abuse Madison. Madison’s attempt to
hide her bruises fail, and this results in her colleagues noticing that she has been going through
physical abuse. Chelsea decides to take the matter into her own hands and involves police
officers. Madison decides to move out and live with Chelsea when she is six months pregnant.
Michael is later informed by the doctor that Madison had died together with her baby. However,
in a flashback, it is seen that Madison had staged an accident with the help of Chelsea to get
away from Michael. Madison relocates and gets a new job. She starts a new life by creating a
fake name Kate Smith. Madison later meets her next-door neighbor Alex who is a widower and
has a six-year-old daughter called Rachel. Madison and Alex become close, and Alex is exposed
to the truth about Madison’s life.
Michael realizes that Rachel is not dead when he receives a call informing him Madison
failed to pick her final paycheck. He investigates further and discovers discrepancies in
Madison’s story, including a non-existent death record. Michael seeks the help of Rob, and they
begin intensive investigations. Madison delivers a son and decides to name him peace. On the
other hand, Michael forces Chelsea to take him to Madison’s house by drawing a gun. Michael
waits for Madison and takes a shower first. Alex and Michael are involved in a fistfight. Michael
overpowers Alex and Madison is forced to intervene to stop Alex from being killed. She fakes a
reconciliation and later stabs him. Madison kills Michael using the handgun that Michael had.
Impact of Domestic Violence on Character

TILL DEATH DO US PART: MADISON ROLAND 4
Domestic violence has huge and overreaching impacts on the victims (Chhabra, 2018).
In the case of Madison, she had to live a life filled with fear. She was not able to predict when
her husband would attack her next, and this affected her emotionally and psychologically. She
also sustained physical injuries. At some point, she was not able to hide her scars from her
colleagues in the workplace. She had begun accepting abuse as a normal part of life. When she
told Chelsea about the abuse, Chelsea was horrified. However, instead of seeking the help of law
enforcers, she instead chose to rationalize the violence and in so doing defending the perpetrator.
This is a symptom that is exhibited by victims of domestic violence. Their self-esteem is dented,
and with time, the victim may start accepting the abuser’s insults and wrongdoing and instead,
the victim begins to blame themselves for the abuse (Chhabra, 2018).
Madison was also affected mentally. She had to fake her own death to get away from her
tormentor. Violence against women remains to be a major global phenomenon. Unwanted sexual
acts such as rape affect the victim’s psychology (Saraswat & Mehrotra, 2016). The trauma that
results from these acts may be unbearable, especially if the victim lacks strong social support. In
extreme cases, the victim may commit suicide. In the case of Madison, she had a strong support
system in the form of her close friend and confidant Chelsea. To escape the mental and
psychological torture, the two came up with a plan that involved escaping. Evidently, the mental
effects had become unbearable, and they had to resort to extraordinary measures.
Theoretical Explanations of Domestic Violence
One theoretical approach to domestic violence is the biological approach. Biological
research has focused on the role of ethnology and brain injuries on intimate partner violence.
When individuals are exposed to head injuries, they may experience symptoms relating to high
irritability and reduced impulse control (Ali & Naylor, 2013). Testosterone has also been linked

TILL DEATH DO US PART: MADISON ROLAND 5
to deviant behavior. Individuals with higher than normal testosterone levels are likely to resort
violence. Men with high levels of testosterone are likely to be highly aggressive, and this may
translate to domestic violence. Lower serotonin levels have also been linked to domestic
violence.
In addition to the biological perspective, psychopathology and personality theories help
in explaining domestic violence (Ali & Naylor, 2013). Mental health problems, including
depression, contribute to domestic violence. Personality disorders, including borderline
personality disorder as well as an antisocial personality disorder, also contribute to domestic
violence. Psychopathological conditions are likely to yield in violent husbands (Ali & Naylor,
2013). It is estimated that 37 per cent of all cases of domestic violence stems from a borderline
personality disorder. Another theory that is helpful in examining domestic violence is attachment
theory (Ali & Naylor, 2013). Attachment theory is an attempt to examine the relationship that
exists between an infant and the mother. An infant is always seeking to get attached to the
caregiver. The attachment that a child develops during infancy may continue into adolescence
and adulthood (Ali & Naylor, 2013). The attachment is then likely to influence future
relationships that the adult develops. A perceived threat of being detached from the attachment
figure may generate fear. Disturbed attachment patterns in adulthood are likely to cause
problems relating to domestic violence (Ali & Naylor, 2013). Domestic violence can thus be
explained to be a result of disturbed attachment to the partner.
Intervention/ Treatment
Increase in domestic violence against women has raised global concern over the issue.
Intervention is one of the methods used to ensure that the victims of domestic violence are kept
from harm and issues that cause domestic violence is solved. One of the interventions that can be

TILL DEATH DO US PART: MADISON ROLAND 6
used is cognitive-behavioral therapy. Cognitive-behavioral therapy focusses on the perpetrators
of domestic violence (Turhan, 2020). The approach considers violence to be a behavior that is
learned. As a result, the behavior can be unlearned and replaced by other nonviolent behaviors.
In the movie, cognitive behavioral therapy could have been used early when Michael began
physically assaulting Madison after the disagreement over the child (Turhan, 2020). Michael
could have been trained to focus on skills such as communication, assertiveness and anger
management. In so doing, Michael could have been exposed to alternatives to violence.
Michael could have been encouraged to face the disagreement with his wife over the
child in a positive manner. Cognitive-behavioral therapy assumes that clients are motivated to
change. Since Michael and his wife were not undergoing major relationship issues, cognitive
behavioral therapy would have helped them overcome the few problems that they were going
through (Turhan, 2020). Michaels skills could have been developed to revolve around using his
strength and power in a reasonable manner. His empathy skills would also have been boosted
significantly before the relationship problems escalated. Cognitive-behavioral therapy early in
their relationship would have helped address the problems that Madison was going through.
Open communication would have been fostered, and this would have created an ideal marriage
environment.
Helping Madison begins with safety assessment and later proceeds to psychotherapy. The
safety of Madison as a survivor is paramount. It is important to analyze the risk of suicide.
Madison has been going through various forms of physical violence. Her self-esteem could be
dented, and she could feel the urge to commit suicide. Treating her requires one to conduct a
private assessment. It is important to encourage her and assure her that all will be well. In
addition, it is important for her to be kept away from Michael. Many women are killed by their

TILL DEATH DO US PART: MADISON ROLAND 7
violent partners every year. Seeking the help of law, enforcers may be a good method to ensure
that Michael does not harm her. After the safety assessment, cognitive behavioral therapy should
be used to ensure that Madison overcomes the trauma resulting from domestic violence.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy sessions should be organized. Resources that could be
useful include Madison’s friends and family members (Turhan, 2020). Madison needs a strong
social support system that will help her overcome the problems associated with domestic
violence. Cognitive-behavioral therapy sessions should focus on ideals. The sessions should also
focus on role transitions as well as interpersonal deficits. Madison should be educated on how
she can learn to move on and how she can avoid loneliness.

TILL DEATH DO US PART: MADISON ROLAND 8

References

Ali, P. A., & Naylor, P. B. (2013). Intimate partner violence: A narrative review of the biological
and psychological explanations for its causation. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 18(3),
373–382. https://doi-org.ezproxy.umgc.edu/10.1016/j.avb.2013.01.003
Chhabra, S. (2018). Effects of societal/domestic violence on health of women. J Women’s Health
Reprod Med, 2(1), 6.
Saraswat, A. G., & Mehrotra, A. (2016). Domestic violence against women: issues and
challenges. International journal of research, 3(7), 112-116.
Turhan, Z. (2020). Improving approaches in psychotherapy and domestic violence interventions
for perpetrators from marginalized ethnic groups. Aggression and violent behavior, 50,
101337.