In her new film, 'My Mom Jayne,' Mariska Hargitay reveals that she can finally see traces of herself in her late mother, Jayne Mansfield, which also extends to Hargitay's longest-running role as Olivi

For longtime fans of Law & Order: SVU, these throwbacks are warm reminiscences. They expose, however, precisely how brittle her character is. The creators force Benson to inhabit two mutually exclusive roles: the story expects her to play both the commander and confidante but can only serve one at a time.