Story takes place in (I'm guessing) the 1930s in the deep south. Anney (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is an unwed mother with two girls the oldest being Ruthann (Jena Malone). She meets handsome lively Glen (Ron Eldard) and marries him. But Glen has a bad temper and beats Ruthann regularly. Her mother doesn't know it and Glen keeps getting angrier and angrier.
VERY disturbing but well-done movie. The actors all fake authentic Southern accents and it captures the era perfectly. The acting is just incredible. Leigh was just letter perfect as the mother. She does love her girls and her husband and is horrified when she realizes what's going on. Eldard was a little one-note in his performance but that was mostly cause the script didn't really explore his character. He was downright terrifying when he loses control a few times. Malone was only 10 when she did this and she was incredible! VERY talented for such a young child and holds her own especially in downright horrific sequence at the end. Even the supporting roles were well-acted with Michael Rooker and Glenne Headly being standouts. Also it's all narrated by Laura Dern. As for the beatings--they're never really shown until the very end. You HEAR them though and that's bad enough. The acting is so good by Malone and Eldard you believe every second of them.
One complaint--the movie feels unfinished. It looks like either a lot was cut out of the script or out of the movie. Some scenes come and go quickly and have characters you've never met. Still this is well worth watching...but it is disturbing (as it should be) and powerful.
VERY disturbing but well-done movie. The actors all fake authentic Southern accents and it captures the era perfectly. The acting is just incredible. Leigh was just letter perfect as the mother. She does love her girls and her husband and is horrified when she realizes what's going on. Eldard was a little one-note in his performance but that was mostly cause the script didn't really explore his character. He was downright terrifying when he loses control a few times. Malone was only 10 when she did this and she was incredible! VERY talented for such a young child and holds her own especially in downright horrific sequence at the end. Even the supporting roles were well-acted with Michael Rooker and Glenne Headly being standouts. Also it's all narrated by Laura Dern. As for the beatings--they're never really shown until the very end. You HEAR them though and that's bad enough. The acting is so good by Malone and Eldard you believe every second of them.
One complaint--the movie feels unfinished. It looks like either a lot was cut out of the script or out of the movie. Some scenes come and go quickly and have characters you've never met. Still this is well worth watching...but it is disturbing (as it should be) and powerful.