The two main characters made the story, even though I had a tough time understanding a woman of Linda's age having so few basic survival instincts when she first meets the, clearly dangerous, druggie son. I got a huge kick out of the 'slice of devout Christian life' (at least as far as these characters were concerned), the inherent hypocrisy they were living daily, and making good excuses to themselves and others for such inconsistency in how they stood by their beliefs.
There were gaps in the storyline, that if they'd been there, the characters (especially Linda) would have been a bit less hard to understand/empathize with, but overall these gaps did not ruin the movie. The biggest problem I found with the story, and why I didn't rate it even higher, is that the story skipped from the 'dark moment' straight to the ending without US, the audience, getting to see Linda prove that she had grown and changed (by making that stand to her husband, and to her abusive sister, as well). Also: The ending shot, really, (and maybe this is because we didn't get to see her face down the person that had 'done her wrong' and prove that she finally had a spine), didn't really feel like it matched the actual character arc that the screenwriter started out wanting her to have (or wanting us to think she was going to have). The first shot we see of her (and quite a few more as the story progresses) seems to say that she is a woman who needs to empower herself sexually (and by doing so, empower herself in all other areas of her life where she has been a doormat), to overcome the event from her past that sent her into her current life, but, alas, this is not ever resolved on camera. Instead, the resolution takes place off screen, and all we see is where she goes to enjoy her new-found freedom. (Of course, since I didn't get to see her stand up for herself, I can't help but think: okay, here you are, in your current state--what are you going to do now? Are you even capable of taking care of yourself? Since I didn't get to see her take charge of her life, it leaves me wondering if she actually did, or if she'll fail and go back to her old life after her little 'vacation' from it.
Would I watch this film again? Yes, probably--because I found the concept very compelling, and the two main actors played off of each other extremely well.
There were gaps in the storyline, that if they'd been there, the characters (especially Linda) would have been a bit less hard to understand/empathize with, but overall these gaps did not ruin the movie. The biggest problem I found with the story, and why I didn't rate it even higher, is that the story skipped from the 'dark moment' straight to the ending without US, the audience, getting to see Linda prove that she had grown and changed (by making that stand to her husband, and to her abusive sister, as well). Also: The ending shot, really, (and maybe this is because we didn't get to see her face down the person that had 'done her wrong' and prove that she finally had a spine), didn't really feel like it matched the actual character arc that the screenwriter started out wanting her to have (or wanting us to think she was going to have). The first shot we see of her (and quite a few more as the story progresses) seems to say that she is a woman who needs to empower herself sexually (and by doing so, empower herself in all other areas of her life where she has been a doormat), to overcome the event from her past that sent her into her current life, but, alas, this is not ever resolved on camera. Instead, the resolution takes place off screen, and all we see is where she goes to enjoy her new-found freedom. (Of course, since I didn't get to see her stand up for herself, I can't help but think: okay, here you are, in your current state--what are you going to do now? Are you even capable of taking care of yourself? Since I didn't get to see her take charge of her life, it leaves me wondering if she actually did, or if she'll fail and go back to her old life after her little 'vacation' from it.
Would I watch this film again? Yes, probably--because I found the concept very compelling, and the two main actors played off of each other extremely well.