This movie is plain awful. A mother suffering from post-partum depression has visions of her own father molesting her as a child. The old guy, played by the affable George Grizzard, seems harmless enough until in the end he is caught playing the same games with his granddaughter. I said this movie is awful, and is. Humankind seems predisposed to two quite different fantasies: (1) the conquering hero; (2) the hapless victim. This movie is to the second fantasy what Rambo is to the first. The performances are up to par and the story, though done by the numbers, is plain enough for comprehension by suitably tutored monkeys.
It's evidently based on the real story of Eileen Franklin. I won't bother comparing the two except to recommend that anyone interested enough in this argument watch the docudrama, "Fatal Memories". As far as this title is concerned, there is no silence to be shattered. Quite the opposite. In 1993 you had to shout to make your victimization heard over the screams of all the other victims finally "coming forward" on Oprah or in TV made-fors, revealing the awesome fact that they were abused as children. Rosanne Barr included. This movie is a tragedy all right. The tragedy is that there really ARE cases of physical and sexual child abuse. One suspects more of them now than ever, since step-families have followed the upward trend in the divorce rate. And this movie cheapens the experiences of the real victims by fabricating fantasies supposedly recovered later in life.
You want your fifteen minutes of fame? All you need to do is "remember" something bad that happened to you and turned you into a victim. If you don't remember it with your brain, your body memory will do it for you. Write a book about it if you want. Hire an agent. Not only do you become well known but you make money too. AND you have a universal explanation and excuse for every wrong act you've ever committed. Does your life resemble an Escher drawing? Did you put too much into technology stocks before the bubble burst? It would never have happened if you hadn't been victimized as a child.
"Shattering the Silence" is a dangerous movie, encouraging yet more people to "come forward" and recover memories of having been abused. Or, if not simply sexually abused, then the victim of Satanic worshippers, perverted preschool staff, child pornography rings, or whatever the evil de jour happens to be. This social movement, in which we hysterically string up our parents, teachers, and neighbors, seems to have died down. Thank God for small favors. This hysterical piece of commercial trash doesn't deserve any additional comment. Shatter the silence? I'd advocate shattering the negatives if I weren't a member of the ACLU and would be excommunicated.
It's evidently based on the real story of Eileen Franklin. I won't bother comparing the two except to recommend that anyone interested enough in this argument watch the docudrama, "Fatal Memories". As far as this title is concerned, there is no silence to be shattered. Quite the opposite. In 1993 you had to shout to make your victimization heard over the screams of all the other victims finally "coming forward" on Oprah or in TV made-fors, revealing the awesome fact that they were abused as children. Rosanne Barr included. This movie is a tragedy all right. The tragedy is that there really ARE cases of physical and sexual child abuse. One suspects more of them now than ever, since step-families have followed the upward trend in the divorce rate. And this movie cheapens the experiences of the real victims by fabricating fantasies supposedly recovered later in life.
You want your fifteen minutes of fame? All you need to do is "remember" something bad that happened to you and turned you into a victim. If you don't remember it with your brain, your body memory will do it for you. Write a book about it if you want. Hire an agent. Not only do you become well known but you make money too. AND you have a universal explanation and excuse for every wrong act you've ever committed. Does your life resemble an Escher drawing? Did you put too much into technology stocks before the bubble burst? It would never have happened if you hadn't been victimized as a child.
"Shattering the Silence" is a dangerous movie, encouraging yet more people to "come forward" and recover memories of having been abused. Or, if not simply sexually abused, then the victim of Satanic worshippers, perverted preschool staff, child pornography rings, or whatever the evil de jour happens to be. This social movement, in which we hysterically string up our parents, teachers, and neighbors, seems to have died down. Thank God for small favors. This hysterical piece of commercial trash doesn't deserve any additional comment. Shatter the silence? I'd advocate shattering the negatives if I weren't a member of the ACLU and would be excommunicated.