Too much of everything

Such a frustrating disappointment

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

I had high hopes for this, considering the actors involved and the fact that it was produced by HBO. But I couldn't believe how badly made it was.This should have been an emotionally wrenching story of a woman coming to grips with the fact that she was repeatedly raped as a child by an adult she trusted. Instead, it plays more like an ABC After School Special. None of the characters have any depth or layers. I felt as if I were watching a rehearsal for the finished film. One of the problems is in the writing. Scenes just seem to exist for the purpose of conveying information, but no one seems invested. Viewers should be terrified and repulsed by Jason Ritter's character, but I found him to be dull and predictable. Even Ellen Burstyn appears to be picking up a paycheck and nothing else. Only John Heard, in the film's only honest moment at the end, comes off as real. I cared about what was going through his mind. All the other scenes were like those bad industrial films they showed you in high school.The director (and writer), Jennifer Fox, has no point of view. And that's the main problem. Had a more competent director and writer helmed this project, I may have felt what these characters were supposed to feel - completely drained at the end. Instead, I felt like an important story was given the Cliffs Notes version.

The story is unique but there isn't a lot of plot holes as in way she forgot the abuse they didn't elaborate more on this and from the beginning how her mother just to be found the letters by accident!!! And I kept waiting for a twist that she could be imagining things and the ending when she confronted him their acting was so weak and lame I couldn't feel the anger a good acting should come out from inside not just weird screaming and shouting

Very repetitive and messy plot. some sentences are repeated over and over. very slow pace and there isn't anything really surprising or that makes you think "wow! what a story, or what a great film", too many cliches and things heard and seen HUNDREDS of times. If you read the synopsis, you already know pretty much everything.

It's hard to imagine a better telling of such a necessary story. It's so real you can almost hear the anguished heartbeat leaping from the page, the breath, the gasps of reality when truths are revealed. The writing is exceptional, so too the directing, and matched with magnificent acting. Laura Dern is a revelation. Or should I say, she is finally getting the credit she deserves after Enlightened and Big Little Lies, what she brought to The Last Jedi. Her acting is organic and mesmerizing to the point where you're watching her every move, feeling her every emotion. However, it can not be stated enough that it is the sheer importance of this exquisite telling of a tale of abuse, that resonates above all else. Should definitely be considered for when award season comes around. Quite simply, brilliant.