Rating: Summary: Not a Family Movie Review: I watched this movie tonight. I am still in shock. My rating is not on the actors/actresses......for they were all excellent. However this movie was more of a documentary about child abuse than it was a movie for entertainment purposes. I believe there is a place and time for this movie.....but on the family entertainment shelf at a popular movie rental chain, is not the proper place. Knowing I have a almost 10 year old girl in my home, I read the cover and it gave me no indication that we would witness this little girl being beaten in the face, her body beaten with belts and ofcourse no indication of the fact it was going to show her being raped....and show it so clearly at that. I wanted to turn the movie off....yet I also wanted my ten year old to see that the man would be punnished. Unfortunately....instead.....the movie showed my daughter that if you let anyone know......two things will happen. 1. the man will not be punnished. 2. Your mommy is going to pick him over you even after she see's him raping you with blood pouring off of your face from his earlier fist contact. Majority of movie rentals are for enjoyment in the privacy of our homes. There was nothing enjoyable about this movie. If they are not for enjoyment, then they need to be clearly marked as such by the packaging and also by the movie rental company. As well in a different part of the business....perhaps in the educational part or public service area. But if they did that.....then the movie would not bring in as much profit.....so again....the movie makers and the business's renting out this movie....put the all mighty dollar ahead of the best interest of the family. I am not blind to this problem in our society, however we watch movies for entertainment reasons, and this was not entertainment.
Rating: Summary: On the Technical Side Review: Bastard Out Of Carolina is an intense and important film; however my comment concerns the DVD edition's shortcomings. I own both the DVD and VHS versions of this film and am extremely disappointed that the audio transfer for the DVD is NOT stereo. The tape has a clear stereo mix but the DVD's audio is a shoddy mono track although the packaging states otherwise. The DVD is also presented in a fullscreen rather than widescreen format. For these reasons I cannot recommend the DVD version of this film.
Rating: Summary: Powerful and disturbing... Review: When I first saw this movie on, 'Lifetime' tv I was so horrified I literraly trembled. After a few months I saw the importance of this movie and later even came to really admire everyone involved with it's creation. Jenna Malone gives such a STUNNING performance. Jenna's acting here is totally Oscar worthy. She's truly a gifted actress.
Rating: Summary: Just Awful Review: This movie is just so awful and yet so good > It lets you know about the cruelity that many children suffer, and though it's depressing I still don't want to turn a blind Eye to it > Are they others ways to tell people that this kind of stuff goes on, well I say yes, but still the movie is a good way > This movie may not be for everyone seeing as how it is kinda intense with the details it shows ect., and manby not a good film for your little Child to see > I do think this film though is good for those who watch it so they can be reminded that this stuff goes on and want to do something about it > I saw that the person who gave this one star said that watching this film will not help children who are abused and that person was right, however this film can remind many others that this stuff goes on and make them want to do something about it > There are many ways people can help out , like donation money to victims like the little girl in the film , sending letters to congress ect. asking that the law tries to keep an even closer eye on this type of stuff ect. > As much pain as the girl feels from the belt and from the sexual abuse of her Step Father I feel that the most painful thing was ... Well let me explain, if this girl was just taken by some Stranger off the street and raped and beaten ect. well that would be bad , But the fact that this girl is beaten and rape by someone in like the family that is the worst part about it > The Man was like a friend of the family and then became the husband of the girls mother and the fact that his anger got the best of him and he abused this girl so much is worse in my eyes then if she had been beat and raped by some creep off the streets she did not know > Its such a sad story because the girl had lost her other Step Father and never had known her real Father > I feel bad for the mother as well who does not have the real Father of her child and when she finds a good husband he dies, then she finds another who is supposed to be good but turns out so bad > I kinda felt like the abusive Step Father really did love the little girl and wanted to do the right thing, but his anger got the best of him , but manby I am wrong > The Step Father seemed to have been abused by his Father and seemed unwanted so I could not help feeling sorry for him, but at the same time I feel so angry at him for what he did > I wish he could have kept his anger under control, since he knew what it was like to be abused I wish he would not have done that to the little girl > Its such an awful and sad story, but yet at the same time I think it good that they made this book into a movie, both the book and the movie I feel can give people a wake up call that this happens and it can cause others to want to try to find a way to stop some of these sad stories of abuse that go on > I am not saying that people who have a temper are bad now > I mean lots of good people have tempers, but they don't let there bad temper cause them to become abusive > Also manby the first time he beat her he had to think hard about it but after that it got more easy,and then became like a drug, that could be a message also that once you give in to becoming abusive just one time it can become like a drug to where you want to be abusive more and more and that is just scary > I think people who start to become violent with there tempers might need to get help right away because sometimes it can become like a drug to where you want to keep being Violent over and over again and even abusive and then being abusive becomes like a drug > This man Glen his bad side started to get the best of him and then manby over took him so much that he could not turn away from being abusive > I am not going to say that this Man was a Mental Case and use that as an excuse for him for get away with this awful crime , all I am saying is somethings anger ect. can get the best of people > I feel bad for all the children who have suffered this kind of abuse and some have suffered even more so then this girl suffered in the film > I want to do what I can to help >
Rating: Summary: Not As Good As The Book But Still Great Review: If you want to read the book, DO IT! It was awesome. In fact, the book inspired me to purchase the movie.I very much enjoyed the movie and was surprised at how much it matched my mental image of the characters. However!, the book goes so much deeper than the movie does, but this is quite common in movie renditions and so I wouldn't particularly consider this negative.
Rating: Summary: Scandalous but must be seen Review: This movie was both infuriating and intriguing. To see how a woman can overlook the abuse of her child for the love of a man. Jenifer Jason Leigh does a fine job in this movie but is outshone by newcomer Jena Malone, who as such a young girl tackled such an adult content and so dramatically. This is a must see movie that shows not only the horrifying abuse too many children go through but also the importance of an extended family and having someone close for children to turn to in times of need. I was not ready for some of the shocking scenes in this movie but I could not turn it off because I felt it was important and believe it needs to be brought out in to the open. This movie generated much controversy in the press and many up and down emotions in me while watching, from sorrow to rage to happiness at different points. This girl's story is engrossing but she triumphed. An instant classic that few will see because of the content.
Rating: Summary: A story that will haunt you and rob you of smiles Review: 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.
Rating: Summary: This movie Review: this movie was awesome. not because of its content or what it was about. but because we dont realize how often this does occur. i feel like one out of ever 4 children are sexually or physically or even mentally abused. This movie had really made me think about what kids really go through and each time i think about it the more i feel like i need to become a teacher and tell kids. DONT BE AFRAID!! its not your fault just tell someone!!
Rating: Summary: bastard out of carolina Review: i own this movie myself,love this movie very much.this movie is very moving,upsetting to say the least.that a woman would fall for a green eye monster, and to allow her husband to physical abuse... her little girl.to stay with this man after she finds out all the abuse she has seen her daughter goes thru from this man hand.this is a must see movie,for all women.
Rating: Summary: Unique blend of women's victimization AND women's strength Review: This emotionally intense but wonderful movie weaves the story of abuse of women alongside women's strength provided by family. I found it unique in this respect. It made me wish I had lots of female relatives living nearby to provide strength and support. The reviewer who gave it one star because the subject matter was filthy should remember that if we don't talk about these issues we will never change them.
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