The Girl in the Book

source: The Girl in the Book

It's a less-ambitious Fish Tank, yet I found myself much more engaged with it. I think that's because it's a more full look at how statutory rape can destroy a life; maybe not dramatically or all at once, but subtly and over a lifetime. Nyqvist is so great; slimy, abusive, creepy, and just plain awful. We really didn't know what we had in him.

A hidden gem of a film. I have no idea why they did not address then entire theme of the film in any synopsis I read, anywhere. Especially since it was revealed within the first several minutes. What is it? The unfortunately seldom addressed, yet perennially relevant trauma that is sexual abuse. Specifically, by an older father figure upon a naive young girl. The situations where charged are never pressed, but the repercussions can be devastating and lifelong, in ways that might not be obvious to the unsuspecting eye. The more the general public is educated, the more likely we are to understand and recognize the problem. I will not say that much more because this is the type of film one must view to truly appreciate; words will not suffice. It is is the casting decisions, the resulting chemistry between the characters, the subtle nuances of the acting, the things that are not said, and the in between silences that really make the difference. All around impressive performances. Emily VanCamp as 29 year old Alice, forced to revisit her traumatic past with the man who raped her, then proceeded to use her words and her entire life as the protagonist for a best selling book. As Milan, the older man who manipulates, sexually abuses, uses, and rapes her, Michael Nyqvist manages to make his character almost vindicable at times, other times someone viewers would want killed. Michael Cristofer as the dominating father that neglects his daughter, obviously calling out for attention. My personal favorite, Ali Ahn as the Asian girl that is Ana's best friend and always straightforward voice of reason. Why? Because she reminds me of me, of course. Ethnicity aside, the secret to her heart is good food (I love the scene where she tells Ana she does not want to see her for a while but takes the dulche de leche from her hands before closing the door on her) and she tells it as it is, blunt to a fault. Mason Yam as the adorable soon that Alice is a godmother to. David Call as the cute boyfriend that opens Alice's eyes. Last but certainly not least, the most unexpectedly commendable performance by Ana Mulvoy Ten, playing young Alice. **** Spoilers **** My only complaint is that it did make it seem a little too easy for Alice to work through her trauma. Based on my time in the world of Social Work and bring a Psychology scholar, I can assure you most cases of sexual abuse, with the victim more than a decade later, will not "heal" as suddenly as this film seemed to portray. It felt like a forced positive ending, since that is what most audiences want. Oh, and that "100 Reasons You Should Forgive Me" idea? Romantic. Touching. Ingenious. Awesome.

a delicate theme. a meeting. a decent film. and the grace to explore the nuances of a painful memory. the option to explore the consequences of a childhood's incident, the need to escape from the mark of indifference of parents is an inspired option for define Alice's dramatic status. because Emily VanCamp does a great job in the lead role. because her fight to be herself against the past is credible , maybe as sketch but enough for suggest the drama. it is a good film. against the temptation to criticize it for the absence of a profound analysis of case. the last scene, like the scene of confrontation, are the two moments who saves the not great courage of director to search the roots of drama. so, see it !

Alice (Emily VanCamp) has meaningless sex. She's an assistant editor at a small NY publishing house. Her boss gives her an opportunity to take care of writer Milan Daneker (Michael Nyqvist). Milan is a longtime client of her agent father. Fifteen years earlier, Milan was a writing mentor to underage Alice (Ana Mulvoy-Ten). She is presently struggling to have the courage to show her writing. Despite a new fulfilling relationship, her life starts to unravel. Ana Mulvoy-Ten has such a babyface that it gets extremely creepy. It's obvious from the start and is hard to watch. It's part Lolita but it's done in a very artful Lifetime way. The incident is never in doubt and needed to be brought out earlier. It's like stretching out something distasteful for dramatic effect. It doesn't work and I would rather get it over with. VanCamp does a nice job in this troubling role. There are issues but it holds together overall.

Emily VanCamp (TV's "Scandal") is Alice, a frustrated book editor with a messed up relationship when it comes to men and a deeply-seated dark secret in her past in "The Girl in the Book". While the story as both written and directed by Marya Cohn is engaging enough, certainly, VanCamp's performance comes off as mystifyingly muted here. She never seems to fully let go with this crushingly conflicted character's catharsis in a convincing manner. And thus what should have been a thundering wallop of an impact amounts to little more than a moderate thud. Also be aware that there is a scene toward the end of this film with Ana Mulvoy-Ten (she looks 14 even though the actress herself was in her early '20's during filming) as a young Alice and a predatory mentor (a creepy Michael Nyqvist) that pushes beyond uncomfortable.

this movie is about the pain of a young woman which was a victim of a pedophile as a teenager.this type of movies makes me sick even if we cannot deny the ugly truth that this happens too often and too little is done.the actors were good,the music,the screenplay,but the story is so painful and any kind of artistic interpretation could not take the monster mask of pedophilia away.trying to live with this kind of pain,trying to learn to live and to love is hard work and is beautiful all the walk she makes to find and understand true and new love.the real thing.this is a movie for those who live such horror and try to live beyond it.for other people is a pain that they would never really understand.

It's sort of ironic that I happened to watch The Girl in the Book and Diary of a Teenage Girl completely unpremeditated within the same week. Both revolve around statutory rape and portray strong female protagonists, but the stories they are a part of highlight different levels of artistic accomplishment. Unfortunately for The Girl in the Book, it does not take the time to achieve more. As we get to know Alice, both in her youth, when she is abused by a mentoring writer, and in her young adult life, when she is handed the job of overseeing the re-release of the same writer's magnum opus, it becomes apparent that her disheveled present is rooted in this particular past. Detached, self-destructive and incapable of forming lasting relationships, she struggles for meaning and purpose in the hope of ultimately rediscovering her love of writing, her joy for living. This gloomy predicament is anchored in Emily VanCamp's strong performance, but at a mere 86 minutes runtime, it's not enough to convincingly build her character's transformation. The worst hit is her redeeming romance with young and idealistic Emmett, your very own Marty Stu character type, which goes from zero to "one hundred reasons you should forgive me" within twenty minutes. It's a shame that for all its melodrama, it avoids dramatic weight with a vengeance, in a story bow-tied ending you see coming from miles away. Fortunately, the film is not so much about the narrative arc, as it is about its central character, so its faults are bearable. But it's a shame, because it does little with a variation on the Gone Girl scenario about the dividing line(s) between degrees of fictional characters. The escape it sets up is therefore neither original enough, nor thorough enough to elicit your utmost attention and care at all critical junctions.

An interesting and believable story taken out from the everyday life. It presents a young woman with a weak character whose life is a mess. She seems to be stressed constantly and not being able to go on with her life because of a deep emotional trauma during childhood. The film explores the emotional aspect of the human character and how getting stuck in the past leads to absence of future. Alice is a synonym of an introvert. Despite her hurried life she makes no progress and seems to be standing still. She works hard but she's not successful. She knows what she wants from life but she doesn't do anything to get it. She has built a wall around herself to shield her from the outside world because she's afraid of it. Aside from the actors love as a two-faced feeling also plays a role in this film. Its first act is to disappoint to a level that everything after that is stereotyped as deceitful and untrustworthy. Then it transitions with the main character to show its other face that can tear down the walls someone intentionally built to prevent the future to come in. This film shows the wonderful things that can happen when you open your mind, stop existing in the past and start living today for the future.

Why was Alice supposed to be able to stop Milan touching her when he tried to grope her breasts but was unable to stop him when he said that he wanted to make her come? The contradiction was utterly stupid and pathetic and completely ruined the film. Why did Milan, a middle-aged man go up to Alice, a sixteen year old girl and say "I want to make you come.", and start stroking her between her legs whilst ordering her in a cold tone of voice to keep her eyes open? Was it because he wanted to treat her with love and affection and make her feel happy, excited, worthwhile, wanted and uplifted or because he wanted to treat her with contempt and make her feel unhappy, shocked, worthless, debased and degraded? Why would an adult male want to treat a female with contempt and make her feel unhappy, shocked, worthless, debased and degraded? Would it be because he felt worthless, debased and degraded himself at the thought that whereas he found her extremely desirable and attractive she didn't return the compliment, and that, as a result, he felt overwhelmed with humiliation, envy and resentment?