I saw this last night on TV (granted I missed the first part of the film), but I didn't understand half of what was really going on. Some reviews here talk about a big "twist" at the end - there was no twist I saw.
The filming was so dark throughout, you could barely see whatever was going on in key scenes, and so cryptic in dialog in key scenes, you didn't really get it. All you got was how dark and depressed everyone is: the bad guys, the victims, the cops - the whole town!
SPOILERS BELOW:
1. Did Dakota Fanning's character kill herself in the tub? or was she just soaking in the tub?
2. We don't see the dead child or anything recognizable in the dark hiding place so we have no idea what Elizabeth Banks' is seeing - we are only guessing and surmising thru the whole thing. And what led her to go there?
3. Why is Diane Lane's character, so fawning over Dakota Fanning while trashing her own daughter constantly?
4. How is it blithely passed off in the last moments that the kidnapped kid was being kept by another adult woman with no one noticing and she's never held to account for this?
5. Why is Alice giving a vindicated speech on the courthouse steps when she is the kidnapper? Who cares that she gave away her real kid years before and this somehow justifies kidnapping???
6. Did they just leave the first child to die? or did Dakota Fanning actually do something (what?) to kill it because she was bullied by Alice?
To me, if you are bored, give this a viewing, but I certainly wouldn't waste my time wanting to watch it again.
The filming was so dark throughout, you could barely see whatever was going on in key scenes, and so cryptic in dialog in key scenes, you didn't really get it. All you got was how dark and depressed everyone is: the bad guys, the victims, the cops - the whole town!
SPOILERS BELOW:
1. Did Dakota Fanning's character kill herself in the tub? or was she just soaking in the tub?
2. We don't see the dead child or anything recognizable in the dark hiding place so we have no idea what Elizabeth Banks' is seeing - we are only guessing and surmising thru the whole thing. And what led her to go there?
3. Why is Diane Lane's character, so fawning over Dakota Fanning while trashing her own daughter constantly?
4. How is it blithely passed off in the last moments that the kidnapped kid was being kept by another adult woman with no one noticing and she's never held to account for this?
5. Why is Alice giving a vindicated speech on the courthouse steps when she is the kidnapper? Who cares that she gave away her real kid years before and this somehow justifies kidnapping???
6. Did they just leave the first child to die? or did Dakota Fanning actually do something (what?) to kill it because she was bullied by Alice?
To me, if you are bored, give this a viewing, but I certainly wouldn't waste my time wanting to watch it again.