The mother of the boy during the trial expressed it best: "There is no rape where there is no coercion," or words to that effect. I totally disagree with the other reviewer's feelings that what Mary Kay and Billy had together was wrong. In fact, they were (and are) in love; the movie conveys the heartbreak caused by Puritanical statists interfering in peaceful, voluntary, and in this case loving sexual relationships.
The acting is first-rate, especially by Mercedes Ruehl and Penelope Ann Miller. The subhumanity of police/prosecutorial behavior is accurately presented.
The movie, by honestly portraying the anguish and the ecstasy of a true love occurring between an adult woman and a minor man, confronts the Talibanistic-Christian sexual repression that underlies far too much of American society. I have nothing but sympathy and even admiration for Mary Kay and her young man, holding forth for love against such brutal hostility; I would like to have seen the movie updated to current reality.
The acting is first-rate, especially by Mercedes Ruehl and Penelope Ann Miller. The subhumanity of police/prosecutorial behavior is accurately presented.
The movie, by honestly portraying the anguish and the ecstasy of a true love occurring between an adult woman and a minor man, confronts the Talibanistic-Christian sexual repression that underlies far too much of American society. I have nothing but sympathy and even admiration for Mary Kay and her young man, holding forth for love against such brutal hostility; I would like to have seen the movie updated to current reality.