Good start, but then it gets ruined

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

I remember seeing this movie on the shelves at my local video store 15 years ago. I never watched it until now (May 09) and I wish I had just not watched it at all.The story is unimaginative and unremarkable. Completely cut and dry. I would have rather brought this news clipping up on one of those old timey news paper viewers and used my own imagination to fill in the gaps.Juliette Lewis overdid the angry teen and was mostly annoying. Brad Pitt did the best he could with the material he was given but considering how limited he was by the role, he performed it well.It was made for TV on a Sunday afternoon when everyone was out and they needed some crap to fill the gaps between paid programming, and it should have stayed that way.

I understand the intentions of the producers, they wanted to show to the viewers, that there was a few kids that have been charged with murder and put to death penalty... but that is only theoretical truth, deathpenaltyinfo.org on this page you can see all the people punished with death sentence, for the crime they've committed, when they were under aged... as you can see all the defendants were 17, not 14, when they committed the crime... And by the time they were killed, years have past. 4ex, Joseph Cannon had waited 21 years for the crime he committed, when he was 17, and i'm sure he made a lot more terrible things by the time he was 38. So i think that it is bullshit, trying to soften the viewer, by showing this 14 year old putted to death, cause it will never happen in a normal country.

Sorry, dim-witted or not, Lewis' character knew right from wrong. She knew that she had been treated wrongly, yet she murdered in cold blood. I had no sympathy for anybody in the story. Michael O'Keefe had sex with a minor, even though he had children himself. If anyone had touched HIS kids in a sexual way, he would have wanted to kill them, yet he allowed his personal sexual needs to take advantage of a teen girl.I don't believe in the death penalty, so the Brad Pitt character and the Lewis' Amanda deserve to rot in jail for the rest of their lives. People know right from wrong and both of these idiots are no exception.All this nonsense about "she's just a teenager and she was abused by her mother" crap is just an excuse. I was inappropriately approached by grown men when I was a teen, but I knew NOT to do what they wanted me to do.As played, Lewis didn't always seem so dim-witted. She made a lot of sense and didn't seem retarded. Pitt was just a user -- a complete looser -- we've seen his type in lots of other films. It always amazes me how stupid girls and women can be. So desperate for the love and approval of men, they'll do ANYTHING, sometimes even helping a lover to murder their own parents or relatives.Too bad they are raised from the beginning to depend on males, instead of being self-reliant. When women sit back and allow men to pay for everything, they loose their EQUALITY and give all power to men. Big mistake.

When I first saw this film in 1990, I as deeply disturbed but also incredibly impressed by the convincingly believable and powerful portrayal of Amanda Sue Bradley by Juliette Lewis. She was virtually unknown at the time, and I was impressed; I remember noting her name in the credits and expecting her to become a celebrity based solely on the talent she conveyed in that role. I recently saw this film again (2005), and I was even more impressed by her ability to tap into the mentality of the character and portray such desperation.Other than her performance, the movie is nothing to rave about; in fact, I'd call it cheesy, and I would expect better of Brad Pitt. If you are a Juliette Lewis fan, however, it is a MUST SEE! Your respect for her will only grow greater. She is the only thing making the film memorable.