This could have been a very good film - and an important film. That's because it deals with an issue that is very prominent in people's mind these days - child abuse - and does so from a most unusual perspective. It recounts the deterioration of a family as the parents drift apart mainly because the father has undisclosed homosexual feelings and has tired of pretending he loves his wife. More than that, the father takes a liking to the pre-teen son of his business partner and sets out to seduce him.
This is very controversial and explosive stuff and could have been a very thought provoking and confronting movie. Instead it is dreary, heavy-handed, unbelievable and totally lacking in subtlety and finesse. None of the characters are particularly believable, especially the two parents. The mother is a neurotic nut case and the father is so slimy and creepy it's not believable that any kid would deign to hang around him. The thing about it is that there is a startling plot twist at the end that almost redeems the movie and just shows how good it could have been if handled better.
This is very controversial and explosive stuff and could have been a very thought provoking and confronting movie. Instead it is dreary, heavy-handed, unbelievable and totally lacking in subtlety and finesse. None of the characters are particularly believable, especially the two parents. The mother is a neurotic nut case and the father is so slimy and creepy it's not believable that any kid would deign to hang around him. The thing about it is that there is a startling plot twist at the end that almost redeems the movie and just shows how good it could have been if handled better.