Laura Wayman

This movie peeled back the layers of societal standards of what it means to be a “mom” and showed a more authentic view of how the mom is feeling in the midst of it. Balancing what we are told we should feel with what we actually feel is difficult, and this movie shows that. I fear it will be lambasted bc the portrait isn’t flattering, but THAT is exactly what being a human is. Women haven’t been allowed to be human, flaws and all, ever. It becomes a character deficit to BE anything other than status quo, and sometimes it breaks you. I watched this through gritted teeth. Although I haven’t experienced many of the things this mother has, the interactions with her daughters caused me pain; only a mother can write that honestly about the depth of confusion and absence of self that takes hold when trying to balance BEING a separate human while simultaneously being the only human that your daughters actually SEE. Wow. I loved it because I hated how familiar the depravity of the character’s thoughts and actions were. It is excellent.

As a survivor of childhood sexual abuse myself, their stories hit home in a very personal way. Unless you have experienced the manipulation, confusion, shame, seduction, attention, and guilt all first hand, then you can’t have an opinion that holds any weight. Criticizing the choices made by the victim after the abuse is unconscionable. These were BABIES who were exploited by a man who was like their God. They were robbed of their childhoods and of the ability to ever experience true intimacy with another human without having to work and work and work at it.