Ellen Page is indeed “pretty” as Sylvia Likens; a lot prettier than the girl her character is based on. The broad title doesn’t do her justice. This is a story of not just An American Crime but domestic abuse blatant and extreme enough to reach levels of maudlinism. The plot seems improbable; family and friends joining together to beat and torture one frail teenage girl; but it’s actually whitewashed. The real-life accusations are even worse.
my rating : 3 of 5
2007
2022
timcast.com
There’s a great movie in Cast Away. The time in which a Fed Ex worker named Chuck Noland is stranded on an island, most of the movie, is a triumph in movie-making. It puts a single actor on what appears to be a single set for a long time with no real dialogue, other characters to interact with or cuts back to the normal world, and manages to stay both captivating and believable the whole time.
Well, there’s one thing that isn’t very believable. It has to do with a Fed Ex package; one of the few man-made items Chuck Noland has at his disposal. There’s also a volleyball, ice skates and not much else. This is a tale of survival in the truest sense. What almost ruins the experience is the epilogue, which lasts for too long and seems irrelevant in comparison to everything that came before it.
my rating : 4 of 5
2000