I Am Elizabeth Smart

The fact that Elisabeth is alive and telling her nightmare is unbelievable in its own right. It's extremely likely that if she did anything it would mean death added to the already unspeakable torture both physically and mentally that she endured. It's akso extremely unlikely that a survivor has the guts or stamina to share that time period in her life. MOST survivors go into a self absorbed, protective mode that makes them unable or unwilling to tell her/his story to the world in fear of being blamed by society. For Elizabeth Smart to tour the free world telling her facts and helping save countless lives from doing it is absolutely remarkable. She is in my book a true hero and a extremely beautiful soul.

The movie itself while not the best put together cinematic piece it is, IMO a must watch.

I went in with reasonably low expectations with this being a made for TV movie but ended up liking it more than I expected. It's probably a 7/10 movie but because I wasn't bored once, the acting was so good and it exceeded my expectations I gave it 8.

Okay, maybe I'm a bit opinionated on this because Smart keeps justifying her non-action toward her captors, but I really can't appreciate this movie. There is no value. I'm glad she got lucky to be alive but none of her actions (or inaction as the case may be) is worth making into a movie. I've seen documentaries of girls her age, abducted and raped actively trying to get away and successfully doing so. They did not move when they know it could be harmful and did so when the opportunity arose. Mis Smart is actually the perfect victim. And if not for the lucky break of being noticed by policemen, she would still be a kidnap victim.

Some will think this tale is too tall to be believed. I say, please compare it to all others. How rare is it that a victim survives such an assault? This poor girl's parents...my goodness, to feel so powerless against evil of this magnitude. In spite of the parents being such good, giving people... This poor little girl had her life stolen from her, and she's risked ridicule and scorn by actively working to create in society a higher level of alertness so it can better-protect other children.

As a movie, a lot was left to be desired. Acting, fit and finished were by far no cinematic masterpieces on par with Casino or Scarface or Gone With The Wind. But, this is a *True *Story!!! Who cares about the presentation, the acting, the absolute "fit and finish"? This is a devastating yet touching story brought to the public eye with great help from the survivor of a wicked tragedy. If this were a street race, this is the old car that wins races slowly but surely. Because it's not intended to entertain, it's intended to educate and broaden understandings. Don't break-out the pints and nuts and/or popcorn in preparation for entertainment. Open your minds as you would while watching any documentary-based movie. And learn a lesson in human nature in some people living in the US of A.

Elizabeth Smart is a truly remarkable woman, and for her to have the courage to detail her story in this manner is nothing short of incredible. No detail is left out, on purpose I'd assume. Her message shows that she is not guilty of what happened to her and those who share similar abuse stories should not be ashamed. For her to agree to do such a detailed and accurate rendition of her story is amazing, and I can not recommend you watch this film enough (and her book, "My Story"), if anything for the lessons of resilience and courage.