image by © Lise Winne
(please note, this page will be constantly updated as I write new reviews)
pg 1:
(click on movie name to be taken to the review)
(click on movie name to be taken to the review)
Into the Wild -- a young man from an allegedly abusive family who has graduated from college, leaves on a two year adventure that neither his parents or sister know about.
August Osage County -- a toxic abusive family with substance abuse issues gathers for the disappearance and death of the patriarch.
pg 2:
Good Will Hunting -- a survivor of severe child abuse and parental abandonment is a genius janitor who works at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and ends up transcending his past through therapy and abilities to solve complicated math problems.
The Tudors (series) -- my pick among movies and series about how abusers act (narcissists, malignant narcissists and sociopaths). King Henry VIII of England rules with an iron fist, believes his words are divine, surrounds himself with other narcissists and sociopaths in the way of flattering servants, practices "idealize, devalue and discard" with his wives, has his wives banished or executed with trumped up charges, and is a serial bully both on the world stage and in his private life.
pg 3:
The Book of Esther (T.V. show: Law and Order, Special Victims Unit) -- a survivor of egregious child abuse tries to get free of her family and ends up with the Special Victims Unit, only to return to her family. Based loosely on the Turpin case.
pg 4:
Mommie Dearest -- The quintessential child abuse movie. A survivor of child abuse from a famous alcoholic movie star goes through life wondering if her mother loves her, and dealing with the fallout of her mother's unpredictable rages and narcissism.
Gaslight -- The movie that inspired the psychological manipulation game called "gaslighting" (a favorite game of narcissists, sociopaths and psychopaths). A vulnerable young woman marries a man who tries to convince her that she is going insane, but his motivations are not what they seem.
August Osage County -- a toxic abusive family with substance abuse issues gathers for the disappearance and death of the patriarch.
pg 2:
Good Will Hunting -- a survivor of severe child abuse and parental abandonment is a genius janitor who works at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and ends up transcending his past through therapy and abilities to solve complicated math problems.
The Tudors (series) -- my pick among movies and series about how abusers act (narcissists, malignant narcissists and sociopaths). King Henry VIII of England rules with an iron fist, believes his words are divine, surrounds himself with other narcissists and sociopaths in the way of flattering servants, practices "idealize, devalue and discard" with his wives, has his wives banished or executed with trumped up charges, and is a serial bully both on the world stage and in his private life.
pg 3:
The Book of Esther (T.V. show: Law and Order, Special Victims Unit) -- a survivor of egregious child abuse tries to get free of her family and ends up with the Special Victims Unit, only to return to her family. Based loosely on the Turpin case.
pg 4:
Mommie Dearest -- The quintessential child abuse movie. A survivor of child abuse from a famous alcoholic movie star goes through life wondering if her mother loves her, and dealing with the fallout of her mother's unpredictable rages and narcissism.
Gaslight -- The movie that inspired the psychological manipulation game called "gaslighting" (a favorite game of narcissists, sociopaths and psychopaths). A vulnerable young woman marries a man who tries to convince her that she is going insane, but his motivations are not what they seem.
pg 5:
Sleeping with the Enemy -- A domestic violence victim from Massachusetts tries to find a way out of her abusive situation by planning an escape (while fawning so as not to be suspect). She fakes her own death and takes up a new identity in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
pg. 6:
Maid -- A woman who is the victim of domestic abuse, leaves with her daughter only to find poverty, bureaucracy, an unsupportive challenging family situation, underpaid maid work that is disgusting or that constantly seems to squash her dreams of providing a better life for her daughter, bad luck, and a society who largely treats her needs and her child's needs as if they are invisible.
pg. 7:
Series Review: Wilderness (Amazon Prime version in six episodes, 2023 -- A little girl grows up with a cheating father and marries someone who cheats on her too. During a dream trip of national parks, gazing on high mountaintops and cliffs, and hiking in the wilderness, she dreams of revenge, but there are unforeseen consequences for those revenges.
DOCUMENTARY REVIEWS:
Jeffrey Epstein, Filthy Rich (Netflix) -- This four part series takes on sex trafficking and sexual abuse of underage girls: how they were trafficked to other powerful men (allegedly even government leaders), how they were silenced, the trauma they endured, the conspirators around them who condoned, normalized and pushed for the abuse. Gripping heartbreaking ending, with some hope.
Guardians Inc, Dirty Money Season 3, Episode 5 (Netflix) -- This series takes on the subject of forced and fraudulent guardians who sell all of an elder's assets without the consent of the elder, pockets the money, charges exorbitant fees, gets them declared incompetent (a ward of the state) by over-medicating, and isolates their victim, all with a wink-wink-nod-nod from corrupt judges and unscrupulous lawyers. A must-see.
I would add the film An American Crime, staring Ellen Page. Based on true events. It accurately depicts how the rest of the family, siblings, and friends of those siblings react when a parent abuses one child. Accurately portrays how siblings are turned into mini tyrants and bullies themselves, recruiting others to bully and torture their abused sibling...whilst having a great time, laughing all the way, without regrets. The feeling of entitlement and superiority stoked within them is real, and they are capable of going on in their lives joyfully while their sibling is abused and tortured. They come to take joy in it, and encourage others to abuse her too. This is how dysfunctional systems behave when the one at the top (parent) is toxic. In time, the minions below follow suit and begin abusing the victim too. With relish and without guilt. I'd say, it is "fun" for them. And they don't have any sense that what they are doing is cruel or wrong. They only feel justified, superior, and are having a great time while another human being is being tortured under their roof. A peek into a toxic family. Shows how scapegoating starts..and flourishes.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! I will look into this one!!
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