Fairaher
The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.
Siflutter
It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.
Ogosmith
Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.
Marva-nova
Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.
swtlilbabigrl
I thought this was an excellent movie. The actors were amazing as well. The movie shows the disturbing effects that child molestation has on the child and on the child's family.The young boy in this movie, Brandon, was like every child filled with happiness and innocence. However, his childhood and innocence were stolen from him from a sick and perverted man, Daniel. The once happy little boy became angry at the world. He no longer took pleasure in things that had once filled him with joy. This disgusting man had destroyed his once happy life. His mother realized his change and did not know what to think about it. So who did she go to for advice??..She went to the man that had done this to her son. She thought she could trust him because he seemed like a nice man. Little did she know that all the time this man was betraying her trust and hurting her precious child. Brandon was terrified to tell anyone because Daniel had threatened to hurt his mother and baby sister if he did. So Daniel kept his dark secret buried within him until he could no longer deal with it. He finally told his aunt who helped him tell his dad and you would not believe his father's reaction. His father told him that stuff like that happened all the time and that he would be just fine. Great father he was right. So he later told his mother, at that point she flipped out because she had been molested herself. So in a sense you could say that she snapped at that very moment. From that point on she tried everything to get that man in jail, but he ran. Brandon no longer felt safe. He became a recluse. He even tried to kill himself, but his mother got home in time. Atthat point she snapped again. Finally when the man was caught they had to go to trial. Other children including Brandon had to testify, but Brandon couldn't he was so scared that he became sick. Then the mother learned that Daniel had done this before and had gotten out with just probation no jail time at all. When she looked into the courtroom she saw him laughing so she took her gun and shot him and continued to shoot him until her bullets were out. I think she did nothing wrong. In fact I think she did the right thing. It was like a lion with her cub if anyone tries to mess with it she will attack and that is exactly what Ellie did. In fact I applaud her for her bravery. Some may think it makes her sick but I think it makes her a parent who saw her son in pain and did the only thing she knew how to make him feel better. The effects of the molestation were longer than that. Ellie did go to jail, but Brandon himself went to jail for crimes that were not let out to the public. Obviously Brandon is permanently damaged from what happened but he can sleep safe knowing that Daniel is dead and will never bother him again.All of the actors were great. They really made you feel for the characters. I was crying my heart out when Brandon tried to kill himself and screaming with joy when Ellie killed Daniel. In the end it is all a matter of opinion but I recommend this movie to everyone.
pmccann-1
I caught this screening as a mid-day movie, mid-week (warning bells should have gone off already...). A difficult subject and a tabloid case were given a cliché-ridden treatment.I was really amazed that the mother could actually suggest that sexual abuse could turn her son bisexual. This is as offensive as the abuse her son suffered. And the glossing-over of the real-life behavior of Ellie further compromised the story. (Google her and find out what kind of mother she really was before you rally to her defense.)Vigilante-ism might make for dramatic conclusions, but it told half the story and gave no insight to the lives of those affected. If you want a look at the damage that kids can have from sexual abuse, and the ambivalence that they may feel for the abuser, get Gregg Araki's "Mysterious Skin". Curious how conservative groups in the US and Australia have tried to ban this film which does not glamorize or eroticses paedophilia, but rather shows the impacts it can have as the victims grow to realize what happened to them.
neeman10
The movie was very good regarding its production, like acting etc. The story should be told, it is very important. Unfortunately, I saw it not from the beginning, but from some point. This is why I don't know how close was the rapist to the family, what about the father of the children. I hope I'll have the opportunity to see it again, and complete the details. Moreover, the rapist, who take the liberty to hurt innocent children, hurting that will remain to the rest of their life, lost his rights as a human being, to be taken in consideration, like "what about his mother" etc. I would like to know what happened with the family after the trial. I wonder (!) how come no one was referring to the crime that was done against the child. This is a real story, with real people, with real pain. The real issue is not the movie. The educational lesson of this movie is the issue.
teadm
Even though this is a good film (I gave it a 7), it's hard to find any likeable characters in it, and except for the kid, there's almost no one to root for in this story. I'm not sure if the film is asking sympathy for the mother (which it seemed to, at times) or trying to present all the facts and let the viewers make up their minds. What I'm sure of is that the people at both ends of the story were equally reprehensible and mentally unbalanced (both are into religion, take note). The mob mentality during the trial is disturbing, and it shows that sometimes in our blind search for justice, we may become as terrifying as the criminal himself.