Bastard out of Carolina

Rating:
Summary: This movie is OUTSTANDING but Not for the sensitive people
Review: I see that people are complaining about the graphic nature of the movie, but the subject IS a graphic topic!! I was just talking to a friend about this, and we both agreed that if shocking material is used to get a serious point across, then it is relevant. Child abuse is very real, and the only way those of us who are fortunate to have never experienced it will understand the trauma is to see the ugly reality - UNcensored! Keep in mind that this is a TRUE story, based on an autobiography. If people see how truly brutal abuse really is, then perhaps they would try harder to prevent/stop it. This is an excellent movie with amazing acting.

Rating:
Summary: Unfocused film tackles focused subject!
Review: Bastard out of Carolina is more than just a movie, it is more like a swift kick to the gut. It tells the story of a poverty level family and their constant struggle to stay on top. It is the story of a mother, a daughter, and her daughters who grow up in a world of constantly changing fathers. The main daughter that we follow through this film is Anney Boatwright (played by Jennifer Jason Leigh). After a horrible accident where Anney was thrown through the windshield of the car she was sleeping in, she goes into labor. Sleeping through all of the birth and through the next couple of days she learns that she has just given birth to her first daughter named Ruth Anne "Bone" Boatwright (played amazing well by Jena Malone) by a man that is no longer in her life. At the hospital she is ashamed when the stamp of "illegitimate" is placed on Bone's birth certificate. Anney does not want Bone, her first daughter, to have the same burden that she has had all of her life. So, she tries to find a suitor to clear her children's less-gratifying mark. Her men are not the best chosen, as one dies and the other begins a violent path of indiscretion and abuse that will rock all the way down to the roots of this simple family.

What a powerful film this was and wasn't. I think that this is one of those films that will last the test of time, that the message that it carries will always be relevant in our society of sexual and physical abusers. Every day that we turn on the news, I see that there is at least one report of physical or sexual assault every day. While this is a major battle being fought in our country, this film tries to cover too many issues during one viewing. I have read several reviews that praise this film to no end. Speaking how it will touch us all and force us to open our eyes to the cruelties to the world. I did see this, and it was very emotional, AND I do applaud the direction of Anjelica Houston, but there were too many factions happening in this film to fully appreciate or take in the brunt force of this film.

We realize what hardships are befalling Bone, wondering what she will turn out like in the future, and how her extended family will handle the facts of the issue, but we loose sight out of all of the other surroundings. This should have been a much longer film. There were some ideas that were not formulated, but yet introduced (i.e. Glen's family). I never would have though that he came from a high society family, but what I think that Houston was trying to show here was that anyone anywhere can do these deeds of violence.

I knew that there was the topic of abuse in this film, but I didn't understand enough about the family or secondary characters to truly immerse myself in this film. I also felt that Anney's family was too stereotypical for South Carolina residents. The old mother sitting on her rocker, cranky and wrinkly, shouting words of advise to her family ... advise that everyone should have listened to ... but nobody does. How many times have we seen this in a movie? Overused and overplayed. This needed to have crisp writing to create a story that will not only last the test of time, but not loose the message.

Finally, if you are going to make a film about abuse, I would always suggest never using Lyle Lovett to have a part in the storytelling. He played a man named Wade. He had this line that made me laugh because you can image this line coming from Lyle Lovett. "I like that man, and I don't ... I feel like he could turn wrong like a batch of whiskey in a bad barrel".

Overall, definitely a film that will last the test of time, a message about the evils of our society, but not a film to be viewed again and again.

Grade: ** out of *****

Rating:
Summary: Disturbing, sort of worth the watch.
Review: This film is definitely disturbing. It made me feel like throwing up at parts and kicking in the wall other times. I think the subject is very touchy, but it's in a way something that should be shown as it's very real and something that happens alot and people should understand how awful it is.

But I wouldn't reccomend buying it. Rent it, maybe, but it's not something you would want to watch more than once.

I gave it a three, which is imbetween. I can't say it was awful, the acting was very good and the storyline was "interesting", but the fact that it's so disturbing makes the marks go down, in my opinion.

Rating:
Summary: DIRT
Review: This movie is digusting and disturbing!!! The step-father and the mother are DIRT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I thought the acting was excellent, yet I agree with another viewer that it is completely disgusting that they would allow 12 year old Jena Malone to act in such a capacity. Where were her Parents? I am fully aware that sexual and physical abuse happen amoung children every day and that is so very horrible. What was the point of having a little girl act it out in a movie?
I also can not understand what type of monster (the mother) would see with her own eyes her husband raping her baby daughter and not killing him,let alone taking him back and choosing him over her daughter. Disgusting and An Excellent movie showing that some people should not ever procreate.
I can not say I would recommend this movie, it was far far to horrible( the acts that took place ) to even suggest someone to watch. This movie was a clear sign of repugnant skum of the earth, the step-father and the mother. OH, AND Why didn't the uncle's go after the step-dad after the horrible rape? What the hell was that about?

Rating:
Summary: Too Extreme!
Review: Though I found the acting in this movie quite very good, I find it disturbing that Actress/Director Angelica Houston could use a young girl in an extremely graphic depiction. I was just in shock! Much like Louis Malle's, Pretty Baby", I didn't see the relevance. Houston could have done a better job telling the story without the graphic nature. Please be forewarned about this movie. It is too extreme!

Rating:
Summary: Interesting but disturbing movie
Review: Wow! This movie is really intense in parts, some scenes were VERY graphic. Let the viewer beware! This is not a movie for children. It tells the story of a girl who is physically & sexually abused by her stepfather and her mother doesn't protect her. If you like these kind of movies, I would definately recommend this one; the actors are wonderful and the story is very compelling. I did think the pace of the movie was slow in some parts and also some of the characters weren't developed fully enough. That's why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5.