The Tale

This is one of the most honest, disturbing yet beautiful explorations of a subject that is all too often over-simplified or dealt with extremely heavy-handily.

The way that the abuse is discussed within the characters frozen in time in the main character's psyche, is profound and unflinchingly honest. The discussions in real-life between mother and daughter - painfully real.

I will be thinking about this film for some time to come, it is an invitation to look much more closely at the stories we tell ourselves, especially with regards to "love".

This movie is absolutely perfect. It's raw, real, and shows how sexual abuse can affect the subconscious for a lifetime. As someone who was sexually abused at a young age, I recommend this movie to anyone who has gone through something similar. You won't regret it.

The acting is superb, the writing and style of film works great for the theme.

POWERFUL, MOVING, BREATHTAKINGLY PAINFUL.. This is one movie I will never forget.

I've never written a review in my life, but anyone who has been touched by child sexual abuse get ready to feel bombarded. The shame, the confusion, the guilt, even the secret feelings of being "special"....they're all in there. This film was both hard to watch and hard to look away from. The acting is superb and the flow of dialogue realistic. A cautionary tale for anyone with children.

I've been meaning to watch this movie for quite a while. I've watched the trailer and read the sinopses. Watching it I wished I went into it without knowing what it was about just because I feel it would be even a more compelling experience. This movie will make you feel uncomfortable, disgusted, heartbroken, dizzy... And that's why I believe it is such a good one. There will be moments in which you'll find yourself looking away. It's an horrible story seen through the eyes of a woman who is forced to face the truth about something in her past that she managed to hide from herself, as a defense mechanism. It really makes you wonder how many times you and the people around you sugarcoat things, because the reality is just to awful to accept. Both the leading actresses were amazing, the adult Jenny, shocked, in denial, angry, heartbroken and 13 year old Jenny, confused, broken, innocent, trying to cope with something no child should have to. It's shocking and brutal. It will leave you feeling sick to your stomach, and it will be completely worth the watch.

What a unique, powerful film. I wasn't sure what to think of its structure at first, but it was completely necessary the way it was to tell this story. Laura Dern is predictably fantastic. However, it's not flawless. The last five minutes were very abrupt and I felt like the film needed to breathe more before it officially ended.