Judgment Day: The Ellie Nesler Story

I just saw the screening of this movie at the Directors Guild here in LA. It is such a moving story, that needed to be told. Christine Lahti was nothing less than brilliant. I highly suggest catching this movie, whenever the opportunity presents itself.

I can't believe a movie can be this moving. This was a tremendous hard drama to watch, it expressed great love for a mother and her son. This movie was so powerful there are no other words to describe it. A mothers rage to protect her son, now that is drama! EVERYONE did an excellent job acting, even though we all hated the guy. Brandon did an excellent job also, displaying the victim. His performance was so believable. This is a movie for everyone looking for a good drama. The only thing i didnt like was the ending, did he kill his whole family or what? Anyway an excellent movie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The movie was very good regarding its production, like acting etc. The story should be told, it is very important. Unfortunately, I saw it not from the beginning, but from some point. This is why I don't know how close was the rapist to the family, what about the father of the children. I hope I'll have the opportunity to see it again, and complete the details. Moreover, the rapist, who take the liberty to hurt innocent children, hurting that will remain to the rest of their life, lost his rights as a human being, to be taken in consideration, like "what about his mother" etc. I would like to know what happened with the family after the trial. I wonder (!) how come no one was referring to the crime that was done against the child. This is a real story, with real people, with real pain. The real issue is not the movie. The educational lesson of this movie is the issue.

I caught this screening as a mid-day movie, mid-week (warning bells should have gone off already...). A difficult subject and a tabloid case were given a cliché-ridden treatment.

I was really amazed that the mother could actually suggest that sexual abuse could turn her son bisexual. This is as offensive as the abuse her son suffered. And the glossing-over of the real-life behavior of Ellie further compromised the story. (Google her and find out what kind of mother she really was before you rally to her defense.)

Vigilante-ism might make for dramatic conclusions, but it told half the story and gave no insight to the lives of those affected. If you want a look at the damage that kids can have from sexual abuse, and the ambivalence that they may feel for the abuser, get Gregg Araki's "Mysterious Skin". Curious how conservative groups in the US and Australia have tried to ban this film which does not glamorize or eroticses paedophilia, but rather shows the impacts it can have as the victims grow to realize what happened to them.

Even though this is a good film (I gave it a 7), it's hard to find any likeable characters in it, and except for the kid, there's almost no one to root for in this story. I'm not sure if the film is asking sympathy for the mother (which it seemed to, at times) or trying to present all the facts and let the viewers make up their minds. What I'm sure of is that the people at both ends of the story were equally reprehensible and mentally unbalanced (both are into religion, take note). The mob mentality during the trial is disturbing, and it shows that sometimes in our blind search for justice, we may become as terrifying as the criminal himself.