AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

mraculeated The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Jemima It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

preppy-3 Story takes place in (I'm guessing) the 1930s in the deep south. Anney (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is an unwed mother with two girls the oldest being Ruthann (Jena Malone). She meets handsome lively Glen (Ron Eldard) and marries him. But Glen has a bad temper and beats Ruthann regularly. Her mother doesn't know it and Glen keeps getting angrier and angrier.VERY disturbing but well-done movie. The actors all fake authentic Southern accents and it captures the era perfectly. The acting is just incredible. Leigh was just letter perfect as the mother. She does love her girls and her husband and is horrified when she realizes what's going on. Eldard was a little one-note in his performance but that was mostly cause the script didn't really explore his character. He was downright terrifying when he loses control a few times. Malone was only 10 when she did this and she was incredible! VERY talented for such a young child and holds her own especially in downright horrific sequence at the end. Even the supporting roles were well-acted with Michael Rooker and Glenne Headly being standouts. Also it's all narrated by Laura Dern. As for the beatings--they're never really shown until the very end. You HEAR them though and that's bad enough. The acting is so good by Malone and Eldard you believe every second of them.One complaint--the movie feels unfinished. It looks like either a lot was cut out of the script or out of the movie. Some scenes come and go quickly and have characters you've never met. Still this is well worth watching...but it is disturbing (as it should be) and powerful.

Bill5 IMDd's average rating at the time of this post (7.5/10) is about right.This is a good movie, but it suffers from:.Exaggerated/unbelievable southern accents.Insufficient development of Anney's character before Glenn's arrival.Bone is treated more as a supporting character for Anney and Glenn than the protagonist in her own rite (she receives no exclusive scenes of her own -- a major weakness given Jena Malone's acting ability).Raylene's character is pivotal at the end but she almost appears out of nowhere.Bone's illegitimate birth has limited impact on characters' actions (Anney wants a man "to take care of us girls", not "make you legitimate"), yet the last scene portrays it as a major subtext throughout the movie.Had I been Anjelica Huston I would have:.Portrayed more of Anney, Bone, and Reese's life before Glenn.Given Bone at least 50% more screen time, especially not as a pretext for scenes that ultimately center on other characters.Made Glenn less of the stereotypical child abuser (a true type of abuser to be sure, but one that is over-represented by Hollywood). In fact, much greater depth could have been brought to his character.Chosen someone other than Laura Dern to narrate (her languid narration actually dampens otherwise powerful scenes).As stated, this is a good film, but it has even more potential not realized.On the plus side:.Jena Malone's acting ability, especially facial expressions.Atmospheric, though not 100% accurate, representation of the period South.Except for two scenes, mercifully free of gratuitous representations (the beatings were much more powerful portrayed from Anney's side of the door).

binasings I just finished watching this movie five minutes ago and I am disgusted! At the beginning, you feel sorry for Annie, especially the part when she's at her husband's funeral with her two daughter, but all that sympathy disappears in a flash! I think that Annie is as much as a monster as her husband! At first she does try to provide and protect both of her daughters but than, she becomes a fool in love; A REALLY BIG ONE! I don't believe how could she allow a monster to abuse her own flesh and blood like that! When I was watching this, I kept thinking "what if he's doing it to her other daughter!?" I was disturbed while I watched every scene that Bone endured every type of abuse. The part that made me choke up was when Annie found Bone being rape by her crazy husband. I was appalled at the fact that after she saw it with her own two eyes, Annie choose that low-life over her daughter.Angelica Huston did a wonderful job as director by keeping the scenes realistic (I know I was yelling at the T.V. in Spanish and English). The actress who portrayed Boone (sorry I forgot her name) did an amazing job at bringing life into that character. She evoked sympathy from the audience and made you want to just save her from her misery. The actor who played her abusive step-father did an excellent job at portraying a monster. My favorite part was when all of Bone's uncles beat up the step-father at her aunt's funeral!Overall, I gave this movie an 8/10.If your gonna watch this be prepared to go through a cycle of emotions, pretty much all of them-don't forget the box of tissues!

jerfitz Not for the Squeamish! It deals with sexual abuse of children. I saw an interview with Jenna Malone and she was emphatic to re-assure people that she was not herself abused during this film, she got along very well with Ron Eldard, and that she understood that it was acting, etc. I'll bet that some actors turned down the role, given the subject matter. From a standpoint of dealing with the subject matter honestly the director Angelica Huston pulled no punches. There's a haunting scene where Eldard was sitting in a car with Jena on his lap and he abuses her - I'm sure it was a very difficult scene to film! But it's a "must see" for the realistic portrayal of a true story.