Incredibly fascinating take on a subject that has been done before.
The story presented in this film is nothing new. It isn't original. There are countless numbers of Lifetime movies that follow along the same lines. Yet, as easy as this movie would be to just throw on top of a pile and forget about, there is some things about it that make it stand out.
Jessica is the victim, a sweet and intelligent girl who is relentlessly bullied by a group of girls. She isn't the true focus of the movie however as she spends most of the movie in a coma as a result of a suicide attempt.
At the heart of this movie is Avery's story. The bully, a former friend of Jessica's. As other students slowly start to reveal the what they know about the bullying that happened in the school, Avery remains firmly in denial. The 'filmmaker' gives Avery a camera to document her side of the story. You're introduced to a narcissistic, overbearing, clueless mother and a distant father who obviously just wants to escape his nagging wife.
Throughout the film, Avery is steadily forced into the limelight, and it is harder for her to remain in denial. She begins by asserting that she'd done nothing wrong at all. Then, as she is confronted, she insists that all she did was joke around with Jessica and it wasn't her fault that Jessica "couldn't take a joke". Finally, in an extremely powerful scene, Avery sees herself on the tapes that Jessica and her best friend at secretly recorded. Avery breaks down, repeating over and over again, "I can't even say I'm sorry".
The film was beautifully shot. The final ten minutes of the film is unforgettable and the 'testimonials' given were all moving. The acting was not without it's flaws but was overall good.
Is this movie for everyone? No. I personally cried my eyes out. This is certainly a film that should be shown in all high schools and maybe even middle schools as well.
The story presented in this film is nothing new. It isn't original. There are countless numbers of Lifetime movies that follow along the same lines. Yet, as easy as this movie would be to just throw on top of a pile and forget about, there is some things about it that make it stand out.
Jessica is the victim, a sweet and intelligent girl who is relentlessly bullied by a group of girls. She isn't the true focus of the movie however as she spends most of the movie in a coma as a result of a suicide attempt.
At the heart of this movie is Avery's story. The bully, a former friend of Jessica's. As other students slowly start to reveal the what they know about the bullying that happened in the school, Avery remains firmly in denial. The 'filmmaker' gives Avery a camera to document her side of the story. You're introduced to a narcissistic, overbearing, clueless mother and a distant father who obviously just wants to escape his nagging wife.
Throughout the film, Avery is steadily forced into the limelight, and it is harder for her to remain in denial. She begins by asserting that she'd done nothing wrong at all. Then, as she is confronted, she insists that all she did was joke around with Jessica and it wasn't her fault that Jessica "couldn't take a joke". Finally, in an extremely powerful scene, Avery sees herself on the tapes that Jessica and her best friend at secretly recorded. Avery breaks down, repeating over and over again, "I can't even say I'm sorry".
The film was beautifully shot. The final ten minutes of the film is unforgettable and the 'testimonials' given were all moving. The acting was not without it's flaws but was overall good.
Is this movie for everyone? No. I personally cried my eyes out. This is certainly a film that should be shown in all high schools and maybe even middle schools as well.