Inclubabu Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Mischa Redfern I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Micah Lloyd Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

Nicole I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

moonspinner55 Anjelica Huston, an unequivocally wise and intuitive actress, takes on a dark, rambling Southern tale for her first directorial effort, an adaptation of Dorothy Allison's book with so many peaks and valleys it plays like a chopped up TV mini-series, the CliffsNotes version. Story centers on an illegitimate young girl (Jena Malone) in the South during the 1950s and her woebegone waitress-mother (Jennifer Jason Leigh), who has had terrible luck with men. Seems her third husband (Ron Eldard) has a violent streak when provoked, and when he begins lashing out at the child in both violent and sexual ways, relatives step in to help her. Rare to find a cast so full of solid acting talent, yet this script takes great pains to introduce characters without giving them anything to do (some of the relatives, like the uptown cousin played by Christina Ricci or Dermot Mulroney's doomed Husband #2, appear and disappear in record time). The central performances are fine, with pre-teen Malone doing some very nice work; a child actress with a solemn reserve and faraway eyes, Malone is perhaps too studied in her approach (she isn't an untrained natural), yet Huston handles her gently and some of the strongest moments are the ones where Malone is allowed to take a breath and emote. However, this film, a failed theatrical effort which was sold instead to cable television, is packed (or padded, as it were) with short-hand tragedy, and the editing is so poor and the narrative so confusing you might need a scorecard to keep up with all the melodrama. Despite her sensitivity in staging some shattering scenes, Huston doesn't allow the picture to flow, to absorb the audience. It's jagged and piqued, and one recoils from it instead of being drawn into the plot. ** from ****

BC_Babe I saw this on Movie Central one cold, Greg day and I have never been able to forget it. Ron Eldard is completely believable in his performance, and will both captivate and horrify you. All the characters in this movie have such a subtlety to them. Houston's directorial debut enhances the performances of these talented actors. You know there is love, of a kind, between the family members. Yet one of the most compelling aspects to this movie is the flat and joyless undertone to the characters. Anney (Jennifer Jason Leigh) stands out in her family because she is an emotional firecracker - her emotions are almost a separate character from that of Anney Boatwright. Special mention must go to Jena Malone for her sophisticated, passionate portrayal of Anney's young daughter, 'Bone'. Bone carries the weight of her mother's world on her shoulders. This is her first major role to speak of and she carries the movie effortlessly.

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.