MovieChat Forums > Have Dreams, Will Travel (2008) Discussion > SPOILER: Cassie and her father

SPOILER: Cassie and her father

posted 16 years ago by Unplugging
2 replies | jump to latest

Did he abuse her?

I watched this film today, and I'm a little unsure if I interpreted parts of the storyline correctly.

Cassie mentioned that her father was a heavy drinker, and we saw him drink in the car just before the accident. This probably contributed to the accident, but I mention it because alcohol and abuse often go hand in hand in the film industry (probably in real life as well).
He also seemed to put his hand on Cassies arm / thigh (?), which made her scream and fight back, and this appearently caused the car crash.
Did Ben refer to (the implied) sexual abuse when he said "You took it as long as you could, Cass. You can't blame yourself for that."? I.e. that her father abused her for a long time, and the scene in the car is the point when she finally fights back?
At the aunt and uncle's place, her uncle lifting her up made her freak out... this seems consistent with my assumption, i.e. that physical contact with an adult male family member triggered her breakdown.

Does this sound correct? Or am I reading too much into it?

[–] arkmanxx 16 years ago

Yes I believe you are correct about Cassie's father. It was Cassie who had caused the car accident when her father began to put his hand on her leg. In her defense against her father, Cassie had taken matters into her own hands by grabbing the steering wheel and causing the accident. Yes you are correct when Ben says that Cassie took it for as long as she could, until she couldn't take it any longer. I believe that perhaps the notion of her father being a drinker and causing the accident because of it was actually just not true. I think that Cassie only mentioned this so that people would believe that it was the fault of alcohol and not her own for causing the accident.

Also remember during the movie when Ben asks Cassie about what her mother had done for a living and Cassie responds, "She never did anything." This proves to me that Cassie's mother never tried to help Cassie during the times when her father was being sexually abusive to her.

Yes the physical contact with her uncle had to have triggered this regression towards her earlier days of being abused by her father. Also all of those dreams that Cassie was having throughout the movie seemed to have been progressing to being worse and worse as the story went on...until she is finally sent to the children's mental hospital.

[–] annasophiarobb8 15 years ago

ya you're right when he mentioned abuse it was implied with sexual, cause you have a clue it's implied with alcohol and a heavy drinker when i saw the movie,i think she was putting a pillow to cover her thigh/arm i couldn't really tell cause it was kinda dark when i saw it,and there's a part there were the pillow was taken by his father and her father starts to abuse her, for me I'd like to say why would you choose your daughter in front of the car with you when your father is drunk isn't that kinda odd putting your daughter in front with your drunk dad. In some country this happens a lot and things end up badly

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