The Girl in the Book

What to say about this movie, yes it is happening, more as we like to know of. It is a movie about a predator (paedophile), and Alice, one of the predators victims. And yes the story could been taken from the everyday life and is about the pain that follows the rest of the victims life. Most victims in this case Alice, lives are damaged. Well played by Emily VanCamp and Ana Mulvoy-Ten. Michael Nyqvist who plays the predator is doing a good job, but something is missing. The parts where the predator is grooming Alice, are very simplified. It does not show the patients (many month's)and how subtle the predators are working and kneading their victims physical and psychological, everyday one inch closer, everyday decreasing the proprietary space between adult and child, like a predator does on a deer.

It's a basic story about a much older many who commits statutory rape on a teenage girl when he seduces her. I saw a movie earlier this year called Return to Sender which I thought did a good job explaining the lasting effects of rape and I think this movie does the same thing as the lead character grows up to become a woman whose relationships with men are clearly lead but this one particular moment, and it's not healthy. Making the situation worse is the the man who did this to her used the experience to write his most successful novel.

I was expecting more of a odd love story of forbidden romance going into the film, like a romantic comedy version of the first season of Californication, which has a similar but different plot. What it is in reality is a serious look about a girl who reached out to a stranger because her dad was too into his self to see her, and ended up becoming this creepy man's prey.

From my perspective, I saw a well done look at the profile of a woman effected by sexual abuse and how she deals with it. Well done.

a delicate theme. a meeting. a decent film. and the grace to explore the nuances of a painful memory. the option to explore the consequences of a childhood's incident, the need to escape from the mark of indifference of parents is an inspired option for define Alice's dramatic status. because Emily VanCamp does a great job in the lead role. because her fight to be herself against the past is credible , maybe as sketch but enough for suggest the drama. it is a good film. against the temptation to criticize it for the absence of a profound analysis of case. the last scene, like the scene of confrontation, are the two moments who saves the not great courage of director to search the roots of drama. so, see it !

Emily VanCamp is excellent here starring as Alice, a self-destructive young woman working as an editor for a book publisher, in NYC. Her boss (Jordan Lage) discounts her abilities, and really just wants her to be his personal secretary. Her father (Michael Cristofer), a literary agent. is an overbearing and boorish slimeball.

However, when Alice's boss wants her to manage the re-release of an acclaimed best seller, some 15 years before, as an e-book, it will rekindle horrific and painful memories for her that occurred at that time. Often told through flashbacks, we see 16-year-old Alice being manipulated and sexually abused by the book's author Milan Daneker. The superb actor Michael Nyqvist is perfectly cast as Milan, and is so believable and despicable you just want to reach through the screen and give him a smack.

As a result of all this, Alice has such a poor self-image that she has become promiscuous, with her life filled with one-night stands from bar pick-ups. The crucial question, and the crux of the movie will be whether once she meets a nice guy and solid citizen (David Call), can she finally have a loving and meaningful relationship, or will she revert to her old ways?

In supporting roles, I thought Ali Ahn did a fine job as Sadie, Alice's best friend, and Ana Mulvoy-Ten was most solid as young Alice. The movie was written and directed by Marya Cohn, who's making her feature film debut here, and I read the film is semi-autobiographical. I would be interested in seeing what else Cohn brings to the screen.

In summary, as mentioned, this is not an easy film to view, but, overall, I came down on the positive side after seeing its rather uplifting final segments.

I enjoyed the movie in most ways overall. The subject matter is an important one and needs to be addressed. However, the ending where she comes to a realization more of what's wrong in her life, it seems to say that a victim can just come to understanding, spells out her future hopes and promises, and "all is forgiven". It really doesn't work that way in real life. That's a huge trauma for anyone to go through and without some long-term professional help, human beings are rarely able to move forward and just "don't do it" anymore. I found it very unrealistic and not a great message to put into the world. Hard and deep trauma requires hard and deep help from professionals who know what they're doing. And yes, as another viewer suggested, it should have a strong warning at the beginning for those who might have gone through similar situations in their real life.