User reviews

Emily VanCamp is excellent here starring as Alice, a self-destructive young woman working as an editor for a book publisher, in NYC. Her boss (Jordan Lage) discounts her abilities, and really just wants her to be his personal secretary. Her father (Michael Cristofer), a literary agent. is an overbearing and boorish slimeball.

However, when Alice's boss wants her to manage the re-release of an acclaimed best seller, some 15 years before, as an e-book, it will rekindle horrific and painful memories for her that occurred at that time. Often told through flashbacks, we see 16-year-old Alice being manipulated and sexually abused by the book's author Milan Daneker. The superb actor Michael Nyqvist is perfectly cast as Milan, and is so believable and despicable you just want to reach through the screen and give him a smack.

As a result of all this, Alice has such a poor self-image that she has become promiscuous, with her life filled with one-night stands from bar pick-ups. The crucial question, and the crux of the movie will be whether once she meets a nice guy and solid citizen (David Call), can she finally have a loving and meaningful relationship, or will she revert to her old ways?

In supporting roles, I thought Ali Ahn did a fine job as Sadie, Alice's best friend, and Ana Mulvoy-Ten was most solid as young Alice. The movie was written and directed by Marya Cohn, who's making her feature film debut here, and I read the film is semi-autobiographical. I would be interested in seeing what else Cohn brings to the screen.

In summary, as mentioned, this is not an easy film to view, but, overall, I came down on the positive side after seeing its rather uplifting final segments.

It's a basic story about a much older many who commits statutory rape on a teenage girl when he seduces her. I saw a movie earlier this year called Return to Sender which I thought did a good job explaining the lasting effects of rape and I think this movie does the same thing as the lead character grows up to become a woman whose relationships with men are clearly lead but this one particular moment, and it's not healthy. Making the situation worse is the the man who did this to her used the experience to write his most successful novel.

I was expecting more of a odd love story of forbidden romance going into the film, like a romantic comedy version of the first season of Californication, which has a similar but different plot. What it is in reality is a serious look about a girl who reached out to a stranger because her dad was too into his self to see her, and ended up becoming this creepy man's prey.

From my perspective, I saw a well done look at the profile of a woman effected by sexual abuse and how she deals with it. Well done.

'The Girl in the Book' tackles the difficult subject of emotional abuse and possible statutory rape with subtlety, but falls short in dramatic expression. The main character is a blocked wannabe writer Alice, who works in a publisher's office for an arrogant condescending boss. Her father is a writers' agent, perhaps even more arrogant and condescending towards females in general, and his daughter in particular. As a remedy for her damaged self esteem, Alice habitually visits bars to hook up with random dudes for one-night stands.

Alice's toxic stew boils over when her boss commissions her to organize a PR event for the new edition of a best-selling novel by one of her father's clients. This author is called Milan, and it soon transpires he had taken an unsavory interest in Alice some 15 years previously while pretending to mentor her. The flashback scenes between the teenage Alice and Milan might have some ambiguity on the surface, but their excruciating awkwardness only amplifies the lurking lechery.

Despite a decent performance by Emily VanCamp as Alice, she's handicapped by a one-note screenplay which portrays her character as too depressed and defeated - and when she is finally roused to confront her issues, the script's solutions are glib and unconvincing. After an intriguing first hour, the film falls apart in the last act.

I enjoyed the movie in most ways overall. The subject matter is an important one and needs to be addressed. However, the ending where she comes to a realization more of what's wrong in her life, it seems to say that a victim can just come to understanding, spells out her future hopes and promises, and "all is forgiven". It really doesn't work that way in real life. That's a huge trauma for anyone to go through and without some long-term professional help, human beings are rarely able to move forward and just "don't do it" anymore. I found it very unrealistic and not a great message to put into the world. Hard and deep trauma requires hard and deep help from professionals who know what they're doing. And yes, as another viewer suggested, it should have a strong warning at the beginning for those who might have gone through similar situations in their real life.

Emily VanCamp (TV's "Scandal") is Alice, a frustrated book editor with a messed up relationship when it comes to men and a deeply-seated dark secret in her past in "The Girl in the Book". While the story as both written and directed by Marya Cohn is engaging enough, certainly, VanCamp's performance comes off as mystifyingly muted here. She never seems to fully let go with this crushingly conflicted character's catharsis in a convincing manner. And thus what should have been a thundering wallop of an impact amounts to little more than a moderate thud.

Also be aware that there is a scene toward the end of this film with Ana Mulvoy-Ten (she looks 14 even though the actress herself was in her early '20's during filming) as a young Alice and a predatory mentor (a creepy Michael Nyqvist) that pushes beyond uncomfortable.

Any film that covers the subject of rape/sexual abuse and its mental and emotional repercussions deserves to be applauded. It is a very difficult and sensitive subject that is also surprisingly complex when you see it from the victims' point of view.

'The Girl in the Book' is not the first film to explore the subject of rape/sexual abuse, and there are better overall examples when it comes to recent examples of films covering the subject it fares favourably. The last film seen by me exploring the same subject was 'Return to Sender' from two years ago, despite my admiration for Rosamund Pike (a good performance in a mediocre at best film) 'The Girl in the Book' is the much better film, being much better written, acted and easier to swallow on the most part. Again on the most part, 'The Girl in the Book' is a good film and a brave and well done exploration of a difficult subject that is harrowing and sensitive and not easy to talk about. It is also often misunderstood, with generalising, misconceptions and even with victim-blaming, which is good reason as to why it could be addressed more.

The first 10-15 minutes are on the erratically paced side and the two stories/time-line structure from the past with younger Alice and the present with older Alice is initially a little confusing and not as easy to follow as it could be. A longer length would definitely have helped, the film is too short which did make it occasionally jumpy and rushed.

If one feels the same and is considering switching it off, stick with it. The structure becomes clearer and while doing it in a nuanced way the film really comes to life. Sadly, 'The Girl in the Book' does fall apart in the final act, or the last half an hour, where it is too reliant on coincidences delivered in a very clunky fashion, things are wrapped up too tidily and conveniently and it just feels illogical and although intended to be inspiring the outcome felt forced and tacked on, hardly applying to a lot of victims and even when there are victims that do move on to some extent they never forget it.

On the other hand, 'The Girl in the Book' has a lot to recommend it. It is photographed with a lot of fluidity and atmosphere and the editing is always crisp and cohesive. The music, when used, never overbears the drama but is never too low key either. Marya Cohn makes a remarkably auspicious directorial debut, pacing enough of the story beautifully and being alert and accommodating to the actors, allowing them to bring believability and nuanced layers to otherwise fairly clichéd roles (particularly striking in this case is Alice, both older and younger).

'The Girl in the Book's' script is deft and can be surprisingly rich, clunking only in the final 30 minutes. Much of the story is clear, appropriately paced (though it is less than perfect in this regard) and dealing with its subject in a way that's harrowing, intelligent and poignant (there is little trivialising or sugar-coating here), making one really relate to Alice. A lot of the numerous twists are unexpected, logical and hit hard, if one feels uncomfortable watching that isn't a bad thing.

Every bit as impressive, in fact even more so, is the acting, with a particularly exceptional (haven't used that word often recently but in this case it is more than well deserved) performance from Emily VanCamp, bringing so many layers from guilt, shame and tormented pain but also determination and conscientiousness with defiant commitment and touching nuances to a character she makes complex and easy to relate to, yes even to people who have not been through rape/sexual abuse themselves. Ana Mulvoy-Ten portrays the younger Alice every bit as believably, going through a wide range of emotions hit perfectly.

Similarly, 'The Girl in the Book' boasts a (relatively) atypically chilling Michael Nykvist (best known to me as the male lead in the Swedish 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' trilogy) who does a fabulous job making his character as loathsome as can possibly be, his death from lung cancer earlier this year was and still is a very sad loss. David Call brings a sympathetic charm and makes the most of what is essentially a plot device character. Michael Cristofer plays a dismissive and cold father figure wonderfully, making one hate him just as much as Nykvist's Milan. Ali Ahn is fine too and one can easily identify with her having her heart in the right place and being the voice of reason.

Overall, doesn't completely engage at first and let down badly by the final act, but if stuck with it's very well done and absorbing. 7/10 Bethany Cox

The Girl in the Book is a movie that covers an interesting subject with interesting characters, but it ends up feeling a bit too on the nose, a bit too by the book.

The movie is about Alice (played by Emily van Camp as an adult and Ana Mulvoy Ten as a teenager), a 28 year old struggling assistant book editor with famous agent parents. When Alice is assigned the plum position of helping with the re-release of a novelist's most famous book she reacts with horror rather than glee and in flash backs we learn that the venerated author groomed and then raped her when she was a young teen.

Unfortunately there is not a lot to the story other than this. Writer-director Cohn spends a lot of time flashing back and forth between teen and adult Alice, but it's not really a mystery why Alice is the way she is and it's dragged out way too long. Alice's trauma manifests itself in promiscuity, which is interesting, but isn't particularly carefully examined and the happy third act ending comes as the result of a functional relationship she has which isn't particularly well drawn either.

Somewhere in this collection of ideas is a good idea, but the movie itself unfortunately takes an all too common trauma and flattens it into a series of clichés that robs it of its emotion and power.

An unfortunately mediocre debut from Cohn.

a delicate theme. a meeting. a decent film. and the grace to explore the nuances of a painful memory. the option to explore the consequences of a childhood's incident, the need to escape from the mark of indifference of parents is an inspired option for define Alice's dramatic status. because Emily VanCamp does a great job in the lead role. because her fight to be herself against the past is credible , maybe as sketch but enough for suggest the drama. it is a good film. against the temptation to criticize it for the absence of a profound analysis of case. the last scene, like the scene of confrontation, are the two moments who saves the not great courage of director to search the roots of drama. so, see it !

For those who have survived sexual abuse by an older, respected predator who seems to deserve admiration in all other ways, and the resultant devastation of this experience in adult life...

I found this statement by the writer/director Marya Cohn:

"The girl in the book is a deeply personal story about a young woman who reclaims her body, her voice, and ultimately her power. At first, she must grapple with disturbing memories from her childhood and their profound, residual effects on her adult life. But she is eventually able to overcome her past and take control of her future. I intend for her victorious spirit to offer hope to all those with troubled pasts who must rise above them to live fulfilling lives."

Excellent film, especially for those who have lived through various shades of the experience. I am surprised the phrase "sexual abuse" is not mentioned in promos for the movie.

Ana Mulvoy-Ten, who plays the part of young Alice, is especially impressive in her portrayal of the full spectrum of emotions. I hope more attention is lavished on this highly successful film.

It's a less-ambitious Fish Tank, yet I found myself much more engaged with it. I think that's because it's a more full look at how statutory rape can destroy a life; maybe not dramatically or all at once, but subtly and over a lifetime. Nyqvist is so great; slimy, abusive, creepy, and just plain awful. We really didn't know what we had in him.

What to say about this movie, yes it is happening, more as we like to know of. It is a movie about a predator (paedophile), and Alice, one of the predators victims. And yes the story could been taken from the everyday life and is about the pain that follows the rest of the victims life. Most victims in this case Alice, lives are damaged. Well played by Emily VanCamp and Ana Mulvoy-Ten. Michael Nyqvist who plays the predator is doing a good job, but something is missing. The parts where the predator is grooming Alice, are very simplified. It does not show the patients (many month's)and how subtle the predators are working and kneading their victims physical and psychological, everyday one inch closer, everyday decreasing the proprietary space between adult and child, like a predator does on a deer.

Alice (Emily VanCamp) has meaningless sex. She's an assistant editor at a small NY publishing house. Her boss gives her an opportunity to take care of writer Milan Daneker (Michael Nyqvist). Milan is a longtime client of her agent father. Fifteen years earlier, Milan was a writing mentor to underage Alice (Ana Mulvoy-Ten). She is presently struggling to have the courage to show her writing. Despite a new fulfilling relationship, her life starts to unravel.

Ana Mulvoy-Ten has such a babyface that it gets extremely creepy. It's obvious from the start and is hard to watch. It's part Lolita but it's done in a very artful Lifetime way. The incident is never in doubt and needed to be brought out earlier. It's like stretching out something distasteful for dramatic effect. It doesn't work and I would rather get it over with. VanCamp does a nice job in this troubling role. There are issues but it holds together overall.

After the release of a victim's book in January 2020 in France about a French writer and his "love" for minors. And the psychological consequences on her.

A movie worth watching on a difficult topic.

Poetic, semi-controversial tale from the fashionable world of writers and editors, in which Emily VanCamp and Ana Mulvoy-Ten play respectively an older and a younger version of the title character Alice - a daughter of two neglectful literary agents who as a teen finds herself becoming a little more than just a muse for a successful, middle-aged European novelist (Michael Nyqvist). Although writer/director Marya Cohn cannot hide her fascination for the milieu she's portraying or Mulvoy-Ten's alluring, Lolitaesque sensuality, she's not out to attract by romanticizing the relation between young Alice and the older writer even the slightest. Which is why, I suppose, the trained creep Nyqvist (Tillsammans) was recruited. He does well in getting the inappropriateness of his character's actions across, but both he and the rest of the film is arguably at its best in dealing with the surroundings and aftermath of the events. Mulvoy-Ten is a wonderful and amazing-looking young talent, but her work here doesn't really match Cohn's direction, and certainly not VanCamp's overly pragmatic performance. It's almost as if Alice and Alice isn't played by the same actress (sic!), which of course was sort of the point from Cohn's point of view, but although the contrast between the two actresses' performances makes for a valid thematic point of view and pushes Cohn's narrative style of switching back and forth in time to the forefront, it doesn't do the film any favours when it comes to making us empathize with and getting under the skin of the Alice character.

Three minutes in I knew the origins of this movie - i.e. northeast region, most likely NY. How, you ask? Will you probably didn't but here it is. It must have something to do with the high levels of atmospheric, land & water pollution that has delayed cognitive development in that region. It seems that every other movie that has the "I Love NY" bumper sticker in the ending credits has as it's storyline soft porn; dysfunctional relationships; restaurants & eating (w/alcohol, too); lots of face to face dialogue that is at the high school sophomoric love crush readability level. Mechanics rating: 1. Memorize a line, regurgitate, cut, edit, next line, and on and on. 2. No special features, but then nothing special to feature. 3. No subtitles for those that need them or to just hear important dialogue (not important in this case).

It's one thing to show a movie about a college professor seducing a college student, but a middle aged man seducing a 14 year old? If we are to believe that this guy actually did that, than he is basically a monster. Why would the girl even speak to him later? Having said that, I don't think they ever had sex. If they did, that would have been much more traumatic and the story would have been about statutory rape, not molestation.

The actors do a good job. I like the fact that her friends didn't just take her indiscretions lightly due to being N.Y. liberals. They called her out on her immoral behavior and made her suffer and repent.

I understand that the woman who created this story was trying to make a statement about sexual abuse, but in reality she kind of just played to men's prurient interests by showing the scenes she did. Some of them were gratuitous.

The whole thing was so slow. Why couldn't our main character just tell everyone off early on and get on with her life? I found the older guy so creepy and our protagonist's continual toleration of him annoying. Even when she does tell him off, it's pretty weak.

The Asian lady, the dad, the editor, and the boyfriend were all excellent. But I wouldn't watch it knowing what I know now. It's boring and pointless. However, there were enough decent pieces of dialog and emotion to redeem it from the much lower rating I contemplated.

I was not expecting much when I picked this random movie on New flick two nights ago. Basically, after seeing the movie, I have visited without wanting to, my own molestation of which there were so, so many similarities. My father said the exact same thing to me when I confronted him, when I was in my thirties, "You wanted it". I was 13 when my father started trying to convince me to have sex with him (he achieved his desire after to drugged me). The very powerful mind games (you owe me) older men play to convince/guilt their victim. I felt every nauseating pain, shame, guilt, and dirty ick that these actresses portrayed. Oddly enough, I also was super promiscuous in my life before I got married. Basically, this movie should have a serious warning... I have been having vivid, horrible memories since I saw this movie. I loved it, but serious warning should be made before you watch it.

I was excited to watch this, and drawn into it. But I couldn't handle seeing this disgusting older man and the younger woman.