Teenager Annie, (Liberato), goes online and gets involved with Charlie (Coffey). Her parents Will (Owen) and Lynn (Keener) believe that it is harmless from what Annie tells them. It's not.
I rarely read the DVD boxes and believe this was going to be a kidnapping with a father like a Mel Gibson, Liam Neeson or even a Clive Owen going after the perpetrator and bringing the daughter safely back. This was not the case here.
Annie is hooked into the relationship and wants no part of her parents or the FBI catching Charlie. It takes quite a while in here for Annie to have an epiphany.
The dialogues are good, but in real life I believe the communication by the parents with someone like Annie would have taken on a more pertinent, caring and information-laden kind of thing. The emphasis for most of the movie was on trying to catch Charlie leaving Annie out on her own believing all that Charlie had instilled in her. Hence the conflict between her and her parents. This emphasis seemed to lose the focus where it should have been, on Annie, and not on Will and the FBI trying to catch Charlie. This could have been a movie about what not to do when your daughter gets raped. And, actually it probably was. Trust only goes so far and is hard to get back when destroyed.
Again, the dialogues were good, but as I watched there were many questions/issues that were not addressed. You may have the same questions.
There was an uncomfortable moment in the motel room with Charlie and Annie, but it was well done without getting erotic or crazy. I suppose it had to be shown to get the full impact of a problem facing the youth of today who go online to meet people; and then there are the parents who are the last to know when something goes wrong; and who blame themselves for not seeing what was in front of them all the time. Trust only goes so far.
After Annie's suicide attempt, I am not sure I buy Will's explanation of trust when he refers to Annie losing trust in herself for the first time in his eyes. Maybe you will agree with him. I didn't. I felt she lost sight of what was right and what was wrong even at that young age. Again, the lack of communication by the parents, and questions/issues not addressed play heavily into this.
Liana Liberato did an excellent job in here and she will be a force to reckon with against the current popular forces of today being the Fannings, Steinfelds, Lawrences, Breslins and the like. 6/10.
Violence: Yes. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Sexual content: Yes. Language: Yes.
I rarely read the DVD boxes and believe this was going to be a kidnapping with a father like a Mel Gibson, Liam Neeson or even a Clive Owen going after the perpetrator and bringing the daughter safely back. This was not the case here.
Annie is hooked into the relationship and wants no part of her parents or the FBI catching Charlie. It takes quite a while in here for Annie to have an epiphany.
The dialogues are good, but in real life I believe the communication by the parents with someone like Annie would have taken on a more pertinent, caring and information-laden kind of thing. The emphasis for most of the movie was on trying to catch Charlie leaving Annie out on her own believing all that Charlie had instilled in her. Hence the conflict between her and her parents. This emphasis seemed to lose the focus where it should have been, on Annie, and not on Will and the FBI trying to catch Charlie. This could have been a movie about what not to do when your daughter gets raped. And, actually it probably was. Trust only goes so far and is hard to get back when destroyed.
Again, the dialogues were good, but as I watched there were many questions/issues that were not addressed. You may have the same questions.
There was an uncomfortable moment in the motel room with Charlie and Annie, but it was well done without getting erotic or crazy. I suppose it had to be shown to get the full impact of a problem facing the youth of today who go online to meet people; and then there are the parents who are the last to know when something goes wrong; and who blame themselves for not seeing what was in front of them all the time. Trust only goes so far.
After Annie's suicide attempt, I am not sure I buy Will's explanation of trust when he refers to Annie losing trust in herself for the first time in his eyes. Maybe you will agree with him. I didn't. I felt she lost sight of what was right and what was wrong even at that young age. Again, the lack of communication by the parents, and questions/issues not addressed play heavily into this.
Liana Liberato did an excellent job in here and she will be a force to reckon with against the current popular forces of today being the Fannings, Steinfelds, Lawrences, Breslins and the like. 6/10.
Violence: Yes. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Sexual content: Yes. Language: Yes.