Spoonatects Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

Donald Seymour This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

TheLittleSongbird Any film that covers the subject of rape/sexual abuse and its mental and emotional repercussions deserves to be applauded. It is a very difficult and sensitive subject that is also surprisingly complex when you see it from the victims' point of view.'The Girl in the Book' is not the first film to explore the subject of rape/sexual abuse, and there are better overall examples when it comes to recent examples of films covering the subject it fares favourably. The last film seen by me exploring the same subject was 'Return to Sender' from two years ago, despite my admiration for Rosamund Pike (a good performance in a mediocre at best film) 'The Girl in the Book' is the much better film, being much better written, acted and easier to swallow on the most part. Again on the most part, 'The Girl in the Book' is a good film and a brave and well done exploration of a difficult subject that is harrowing and sensitive and not easy to talk about. It is also often misunderstood, with generalising, misconceptions and even with victim-blaming, which is good reason as to why it could be addressed more.The first 10-15 minutes are on the erratically paced side and the two stories/time-line structure from the past with younger Alice and the present with older Alice is initially a little confusing and not as easy to follow as it could be. A longer length would definitely have helped, the film is too short which did make it occasionally jumpy and rushed.If one feels the same and is considering switching it off, stick with it. The structure becomes clearer and while doing it in a nuanced way the film really comes to life. Sadly, 'The Girl in the Book' does fall apart in the final act, or the last half an hour, where it is too reliant on coincidences delivered in a very clunky fashion, things are wrapped up too tidily and conveniently and it just feels illogical and although intended to be inspiring the outcome felt forced and tacked on, hardly applying to a lot of victims and even when there are victims that do move on to some extent they never forget it.On the other hand, 'The Girl in the Book' has a lot to recommend it. It is photographed with a lot of fluidity and atmosphere and the editing is always crisp and cohesive. The music, when used, never overbears the drama but is never too low key either. Marya Cohn makes a remarkably auspicious directorial debut, pacing enough of the story beautifully and being alert and accommodating to the actors, allowing them to bring believability and nuanced layers to otherwise fairly clichéd roles (particularly striking in this case is Alice, both older and younger).'The Girl in the Book's' script is deft and can be surprisingly rich, clunking only in the final 30 minutes. Much of the story is clear, appropriately paced (though it is less than perfect in this regard) and dealing with its subject in a way that's harrowing, intelligent and poignant (there is little trivialising or sugar-coating here), making one really relate to Alice. A lot of the numerous twists are unexpected, logical and hit hard, if one feels uncomfortable watching that isn't a bad thing.Every bit as impressive, in fact even more so, is the acting, with a particularly exceptional (haven't used that word often recently but in this case it is more than well deserved) performance from Emily VanCamp, bringing so many layers from guilt, shame and tormented pain but also determination and conscientiousness with defiant commitment and touching nuances to a character she makes complex and easy to relate to, yes even to people who have not been through rape/sexual abuse themselves. Ana Mulvoy-Ten portrays the younger Alice every bit as believably, going through a wide range of emotions hit perfectly.Similarly, 'The Girl in the Book' boasts a (relatively) atypically chilling Michael Nykvist (best known to me as the male lead in the Swedish 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' trilogy) who does a fabulous job making his character as loathsome as can possibly be, his death from lung cancer earlier this year was and still is a very sad loss. David Call brings a sympathetic charm and makes the most of what is essentially a plot device character. Michael Cristofer plays a dismissive and cold father figure wonderfully, making one hate him just as much as Nykvist's Milan. Ali Ahn is fine too and one can easily identify with her having her heart in the right place and being the voice of reason.Overall, doesn't completely engage at first and let down badly by the final act, but if stuck with it's very well done and absorbing. 7/10 Bethany Cox

George Parker Why was Alice supposed to be able to stop Milan touching her when he tried to grope her breasts but was unable to stop him when he said that he wanted to make her come? The contradiction was utterly stupid and pathetic and completely ruined the film.Why did Milan, a middle-aged man go up to Alice, a sixteen year old girl and say "I want to make you come.", and start stroking her between her legs whilst ordering her in a cold tone of voice to keep her eyes open?Was it because he wanted to treat her with love and affection and make her feel happy, excited, worthwhile, wanted and uplifted or because he wanted to treat her with contempt and make her feel unhappy, shocked, worthless, debased and degraded?Why would an adult male want to treat a female with contempt and make her feel unhappy, shocked, worthless, debased and degraded?Would it be because he felt worthless, debased and degraded himself at the thought that whereas he found her extremely desirable and attractive she didn't return the compliment, and that, as a result, he felt overwhelmed with humiliation, envy and resentment?

dansview It's one thing to show a movie about a college professor seducing a college student, but a middle aged man seducing a 14 year old? If we are to believe that this guy actually did that, than he is basically a monster. Why would the girl even speak to him later? Having said that, I don't think they ever had sex. If they did, that would have been much more traumatic and the story would have been about statutory rape, not molestation.The actors do a good job. I like the fact that her friends didn't just take her indiscretions lightly due to being N.Y. liberals. They called her out on her immoral behavior and made her suffer and repent.I understand that the woman who created this story was trying to make a statement about sexual abuse, but in reality she kind of just played to men's prurient interests by showing the scenes she did. Some of them were gratuitous.The whole thing was so slow. Why couldn't our main character just tell everyone off early on and get on with her life? I found the older guy so creepy and our protagonist's continual toleration of him annoying. Even when she does tell him off, it's pretty weak.The Asian lady, the dad, the editor, and the boyfriend were all excellent. But I wouldn't watch it knowing what I know now. It's boring and pointless. However, there were enough decent pieces of dialog and emotion to redeem it from the much lower rating I contemplated.

dumitrescu-catalina this movie is about the pain of a young woman which was a victim of a pedophile as a teenager.this type of movies makes me sick even if we cannot deny the ugly truth that this happens too often and too little is done.the actors were good,the music,the screenplay,but the story is so painful and any kind of artistic interpretation could not take the monster mask of pedophilia away.trying to live with this kind of pain,trying to learn to live and to love is hard work and is beautiful all the walk she makes to find and understand true and new love.the real thing.this is a movie for those who live such horror and try to live beyond it.for other people is a pain that they would never really understand.