The disconnect I have with the movie is that even though Jeff is a horrible person and we are supposed to root for the girl who is giving him "justice", we never see his victims. We are only told he is a pedophile, or murderer, but never actually see him committing his crimes on screen. Whereas the crime that the girl is committing (yes it's still a crime even if it's being done to a criminal or someone who you believe deserves it) is very much on screen and rather graphic.
So he is being portrayed as the victim, and she as the tormenter. And because they never show his victims on screen, all he is seen as is a victim. So naturally I could only feel sympathy for what he is going through. Yes his victims went through the same ordeal, but this was never shown, and maybe it should have, to make us hate him and not feel bad for him. As it was, you're supposed to root for a ruthless, relentless, psychotic girl who's taking the law into her own hands and enjoying the torture, which I have trouble doing. And that's all you see her doing.
If we're supposed to like her, they should make her the victim, but she escapes and then turns the tables on him mid way. Then he totally deserves it, and she is justified. What we instead got was a one and a half hours of torture porn that was painful to watch.
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therefdotcom
10 years ago
but that's partly the point. it is supposed to show, that those predators aren't exclusively some creepy looking basement crawlers. jeff is portrayed as a generally likeable, relatively normal, successful guy, which in a way makes it even more threatening that he is one of "them".
does it really matter in the end, if we have witnessed the crimes. towards the end of the film we know pretty clearly what he did. human empathy should be enough to understand how bad his crime was.
it does not matter if we LIKE hailey. as she said so well herself, "I am every little girl you ever watched, touched, hurt, screwed, killed. "
she is the statement and she is the manifestation of that notion.
all she does is to get confirmed, what she already knows. by all means neccessary.
if the story would be predator finding prey and the prey turning the tables, this would just be another exploitation film.
"laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone." - Dae-su Oh
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drij
10 years ago
How is it not "just another exploitation film"? The film is literally just 90 minutes of torture and insane vigilantism, nearly glorifying both things through a young sociopath. The only thing that's different here from a typical exploitation film is the gender and age role-reversal. I feel like there needed to be a lot more to this film to empathize with Haley. Generally these revenge thrillers have a lot more exposition and, well, the (lunatic) vigilante usually meets an untimely end.
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therefdotcom
10 years ago
it is not in any way of the definition.
there is no clear black n white situation. there is no "someone gets wronged and in return the predator has to burn".
is clearly not glorified, since a) most of the audience does not feel sympathy for hayley and b) hayley herself brings in the possibillity of her being a psychopath. there is none of the usual "ultra bad guy seeks out to destroy innocence" as it was if there was a glorified revenge. the first half hour jeff is portrayed rather sympathetic, even though you know that there is something wrong with him and hayley is portrayed as bat crap crazy. it is only later revealed that she actually has a point.
"The only thing that's different here from a typical exploitation film is the gender and age role-reversal."
ahum, no. first of all it usually "the girl gets wronged and kills her attackers in revenge", so there is no role reversal. also, this is much more complicated. a) hayley wasn't attacked, b) we don't know if she really knows the girl she claims having been a friend of her c) we are left in the open about the level of involvement of jeff in the crime ..etc. furthermore opposed to a an exploitation movie you are not supposed to get a kick out of hayley's supposed "revenge". and if that wasn't enough, she is not torturing for fun. all she wants is him confirming, what she already knows and then gives him an option.
"I feel like there needed to be a lot more to this film to empathize with Haley."
you are not supposed to.
"Generally these revenge thrillers have a lot more exposition"
this isn't a revenge thriller.
"the (lunatic) vigilante"
she isn't.
"laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone." - Dae-su Oh
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