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25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
AN OUTSTANDING FILM ON AN IMPORTANT SUBJECT, June 13, 2001
Anjelica Huston's directorial debut is a stunning one. This film, based with loving care on Dorothy Allison's fine novel by screenwriter Anne Meredith, tells the story of a pre-teen girl growing up under horrific family surroundings in the 1950s American South. Bone Boatwright, played with astounding sensitivity and guts by young actor Jena Malone, is subjected to unconscionable brutality and sexual abuse by her stapfather. Her mother, portrayed here by Jennifer Jason Leigh, is in deep denial of what is happening to her child, unable or unwilling to see what is occuring under her roof -- partly afraid of losing her husband, partly due to psychological trauma she most likely received when she was a child. This pattern of behavior is usually circular in nature -- victims many times become perpetrators or enablers when they become adults. Only intensive counseling and a deep determination on the part of the survivor can break this horrible chain. Jena Malone turns in the performance of a lifetime -- and from one so young! If she can do this level of work at this age, what will she be capable of as her career continues? The entire cast is well-chosen -- this was a project about which they obviously cared very deeply. The performances they give here attest to that. Meredith's screenplay is excellent -- very true to Allison's novel. Some parts were necessarily left out for considerations of film length -- the important thing is that Meredith was intelligent and respectful enough of Allison's work that she wisely chose not to add any elements on her own. Too many screenwriters make that mistake -- it's refreshing to see such a quality screenplay for such an important work as this. Anjelica Huston must have been extremely moved by Allison's novel (an amazing book -- check it out) to have taken on a project such as this, one that she most likely knew would not be a box office smash. She shows great sensitivity to the material here -- there are some scenes that are necessarily brutal in nature, and they are filmed with both truth and dignity. This is an ugly story -- thank God she chose not to show it through rose-colored glasses. The more fine films on this subject are seen, the greater our chances as a people of understanding this shameful problem in our society. The more it is discussed and brought into the light of day, the fewer places there will remain for the perpetrators to hide. Those who don't believe things like this still occur are fooling themselves -- statistics show that over 70% of children in America are sexually abused in some degree. Think about that the next time you pass a school or a playground full of children, who have the right to be leading lives untouched by these predators. I've read that Ted Turner originally commissioned this film, but when it was done refused to show it on his cable network. Too bad he lacked the courage to do the right thing -- and kudos to Showtime for stepping up to the plate and taking over. This is an outstanding film on a heartbreaking but vital topic -- and one that should be seen by more people. Heartfelt thanks to Anjelica Huston, and to everyone involved in bringing this wonderful novel to the screen.
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A story that will haunt you and rob you of smiles, March 23, 2002
This 1996 Showtime film is set in rural South Carolina in the 1950s. It stars Jennifer Jason Leigh as a young unwed mother whose loves her young daughter, played by Jena Malone, but yet is incapable from protecting her from an abusive stepfather, played by Ron Eldard. Directed by Anjelica Huston, it brought out the best of all the actors and kept me glued to the screen in spite of the depressing story. Over and over again, we witness the senseless physical abuse by the father, and the young girl's stoic acceptance of it all. It was good that there were enough aunts and uncles in her extended loving family to help out, but her life is a history of short reprieves with various aunts and uncles, only to be picked up by her mother and brought back again to her house of torture. Yes, this is fiction, but we all know that these things exist. The director was wise though to also develop the characters of the mother and stepfather; we understand who they are and how they got that way, even as we despise what they are doing. The stepfather is out of control and the mother cannot bring herself to leave him, but it is the young girl who must suffer the most. It's a haunting story and, like life itself, there are no easy answers.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An honest and compelling look at child abuse, April 16, 2005
Of all the movie and television pieces depicting child abuse that I have ever seen, this movie provides the most honest view of child abuse, and it does so through the haunting eyes of the child herself, expertly played by Jena Malone. Other movies or television shows merely allude to the horrific details of child abuse, cutting away at the very moments the worst of the crimes take place, leaving the details to the "imagination" of the viewer, or alternatively, allowing the viewer to escape them. That a number of reviewers think this movie too graphic or stomach-turning is precisely the POINT of the movie. What happens to Bone makes you want to avert your eye, look the other way . . . leave the room. You care about her, but you just don't want to KNOW so intimately what has happened to make her eyes so chillingly pained. One of the worst realities of child molestation, rape and abuse is that, very often, adults around the child are aware of the situation, but choose to look away, unable to deal with what has happened in their own families. They may confront the abuser to get him to stop, but in the end, they may not step in and take final steps, public steps, to stop the abuse. Bone's family members-- from her pathetic mother to her comparably strong aunts and uncles -- are all aware of what has happened to Bone. Her uncles beat her stepfather badly after learning of the abuse, but in the end, not a single family member makes the necessary reports to physicians and police officers, even when directly asked about the abuse by authorities. While the other family members eventually seem to loathe the mother as much as the viewer does, they continue to make excuses for her, as family members in abusive families sometimes do. No one helps Bone, because in the end, it is the very stomach-wrenching, horrible things that have happened to her that they cannot face. That Ted Turner refused to air this movie tells us two things: (1) He didn't get it; and (2) He's a coward. Jena Malone deserved an Oscar for this performance. She is an incredibly talented young actress.
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